I Feel The Earth Move
by bohemiangirl
Summary: An earthquake strikes Seattle leaving a trail of destruction. When Derek is seriously injured, Meredith has to deal with the possibility of saying goodbye and Mark has to operate. George, Izzie, Cristina, Richard, Bailey, Lexie also have seperate storylie
1. Chapter 1

Here's my new story. I've been thinking about it for a while and I've finally got around to starting it. I hope that you enjoy it. I've tried to include all of the major characters so there's something for everybody. Please review. I love to read feedback. It encourages me to keep writing. 

**CHAPTER ONE **

"How do we treat hemachromatosis?" Cristina asked Lexie from Callie's legendary quiz cards.  
"Hemachromatosis is…" Lexie started, sounding the word out as she said it. "Um… hemachromatosis is treated by…"

"Too slow," Cristina interrupted.

"What?" Lexie asked, surprised. 

"You only have a limited amount of time to answer each question," Cristina snapped, annoyed. Lexie looked at her watch. It was after midnight and she was exhausted.

"Can I please take a break?" Lexie asked. "I've been working for ten hours and you've been quizzing me for the last two."

"No," Cristina said sternly. "I'll be damned if my interns are gonna fail. Your results are a reflection on me and you're not going to make me look bad just because you're tired." Lexie sighed.

"Can I at least get some coffee?" she asked, defeated.

"Fine," Cristina said. She pulled a twenty dollar bill out of the pocket of her scrubs and handed it to Lexie. "Get me one too." Suddenly her pager went off. "Forget the coffee," Cristina said. "We have incoming." She started to run with Lexie trailing her. "Oooh I hope it's an aortic aneurysm. I'd kill for an aortic aneurysm right now." 

Cristina spotted Izzie at the other end of the hall, responding to the same page.

"Mine!" Cristina shouted.

"No!" Izzie protested. "You got the last one!"

"It was a sprained wrist," Cristina argued. "That hardly counts." As they stood there arguing, Meredith ran past them.

"Mine!" she said as she got into the elevator.

"God dammit!" Izzie said as the elevator doors closed. Cristina looked annoyed.

&&&

"You should have gone home hours ago, Chief," Bailey said as she approached Richard who was standing in front of the surgical board. "You could have had a whole night to yourself. My residents are fighting over who's gonna do sutures in the pit."

"Hmm," Richard said, sounding concerned and staying focused on the surgical board.

"Quiet board," Bailey observed.

"I hate a quiet board," Richard said. "It's always a sign of trouble."

"Don't tell my residents that," Bailey said, checking her pager as it went off.

"What is it?" Richard asked.

"Surgical consult in the pit," Bailey answered. "Your luck could be changing after all, Chief."

"What do you have, Grey?" Bailey asked Meredith who was looking at some patient CT scans.

"Cerebral aneurysm," Meredith said, handing the scans to Bailey. "I think he might be a candidate for standstill surgery. I wanted to check with you before I woke Doctor Shepherd."

"The guy's lucky to be alive," Bailey said, in awe of the enormous aneurysm on the scan. "Call Shepherd now and get him in here immediately. He won't be happy if the patient strokes out before he gets a chance to see him."

"Right away, Doctor Bailey," Meredith said, trying to express her delight that she would see Derek that night. Although it was early days and Meredith obviously had some issues to work through, they were together again. It was light, fun and not too serious which was what Meredith wanted. She headed off to call him. 

"Hello?" Derek said wearily into the phone. He had been fast asleep in his trailer. 

"Hey," Meredith said, happy to hear his voice.

"Is this a midnight booty call?" Derek asked.

"I wish," Meredith said with a little laugh. "Bailey wants you to come in and see a patient." Derek moaned, clearly exhausted. 

"Cant it wait?" he asked. "I just got out of surgery two hours ago."

"Bailey wouldn't ask unless it was urgent," Meredith said. Derek knew that she was right. "Bedsides, you do want a standstill surgery don't you?"

"I'll be right there," Derek said, enticed by his favourite surgery. Meredith giggled. There was an awkward silence at the end of all their conversations where a less complicated couple would say 'I love you.'

"I'll see you soon," Meredith said.

"Yeah," Derek said, ignoring the obvious awkward moment. "See you soon."

&&&

Derek yawned as he drove through the Seattle traffic. There were always cars on the road in the city, no matter what time it was.

Derek drove through an intersection on his way to the hospital and suddenly he felt the ground rumble beneath him. It was a feeling that he'd never experienced before. The ground shook with a violent, thunderous sound that increased in magnitude. Derek slammed on the breaks but still felt his car being thrown across the road. It hit another car before slamming hard into the wall of a nearby building. Chaos ensued in the city centre as terrified people began running from apartment buildings and offices. The city was filled with the terrified screams of its people as they took in what had happened. The power was gone and Seattle was plunged into total darkness with Derek one of many trapped and injured. 

&&&

Izzie, Cristina and Lexie sat in the hall on a vacant hospital bed. Izzie was still annoyed at missing the surgical consult and Cristina was annoyed at Lexie who looked as though she was going to fall asleep while answering another one of Cristina's quiz questions.

"Hey," Meredith said with a satisfied smile, as she approached them. Izzie and Cristina looked at her bitterly, not responding. "Oh grow up," Meredith said. "I'm sure Derek will want as many hands on deck as possible for the standstill surgery."

"You have a standstill surgery?" Cristina and Izzie asked in unison, leaping off the bed in excitement.

"Is it a good one?' Cristina asked.

"Bigger than Joe's?" Izzie asked. She smiled. "This is gonna be awesome." Meredith laughed at their reactions. 

Suddenly whole hospital shook. What lasted a few seconds seemed much longer as objects began flying off shelves and machinery rattled. Lexie held onto the bed that she was sitting on while Izzie and Meredith held on to a nearby vending machine. Cristina wasn't quick enough and the tremor sent her sliding across the hall, her ankle crashing into the wall at great speed. She cried out in pain. When the tremor stopped, Meredith and Izzie ran over to Cristina as the lights flickered before going out. It took a moment before the back up generator kicked in and the lights came back on. 

"Was that a bomb?" Lexie asked, suddenly very awake and terrified. Meredith and Izzie didn't answer. "Meredith?"

"I don't know, Lexie" Meredith snapped, trying to examine Cristina's ankle which was causing her a lot of pain. "I don't think so."

"I think you broke it," Izzie said to Cristina. She tried to touch her ankle but Cristina nearly kicked her.

"Oh come on!" Cristina said through the pain. "There could be major surgeries and I get an injury!"

"Stay still," Meredith said, as her pager went off. 

"It freaking hurts!" Cristina snapped back as all their pagers went off. Something very major had happened but they weren't sure exactly what. 

&&&

Alex switched the television on as his pager went off. The power outage hadn't extended into the suburbs. He had slept through the tremor. 

"Did you feel that?" George asked, bursting through Alex's bedroom door in a panic.

"Feel what?" Alex asked, confused as to why he was being paged in the early hours of the morning. He turned his attention to the CNN reporter on the television.

"In breaking news," the reporter began, "An earthquake measuring 6 on the Richter scale has struck Seattle causing major destruction in the city centre. The number of casualties is not yet known, however, a similar scale earthquake in China earlier this year killed an estimated two hundred people. Authorities are-" Alex switched the television off.

"Cool," he said, getting ready to go in to the hospital. George turned the television back on, still in shock over what had happened. Alex switched it back off. "We gotta go, O'Malley," he said. 

"We just experienced an earthquake," George said in disbelief. 

"Yeah," Alex said. "And we're gonna miss out on all he good surgeries too if we sit around watching TV all night. Let's go."


	2. Chapter 2

I did mean to update this sooner but I got a touch of writer's block. Anyway, I hope you like the update. Please review for me. I'd really, really appreciate it.

**CHAPTER TWO**

Derek groaned pain as he tried to move from within the wreckage of the car which had slammed into a wall. He could move his feet and could feel his legs which he knew was a good sign. He checked that he could move his arms. He assessed that he had no spinal injuries. The relief lasted only for a moment though as he smelt something that he wished he didn't: smoke. Derek tried to move through the cramped wreckage but the damage to the car was too severe. He would need to be cut out. Derek coughed as the smoke became thicker. He looked through the rear window of the car and saw that part of the building which he had crashed into had caught alight. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed 911. At first there was no answer. The amount of emergency calls overwhelmed the emergency services. Finally someone picked up.

"Can I please have your location?" the operator asked.

"I'm on Jackson Street, just off the main intersection," Derek said urgently. "I can't get out of my car and there's a fire."

"Please just stay calm, Sir," the operator said. "We will-" the phone suddenly cut out.

"Goddammit!" Derek said to himself, dialing 911 again. The line was dead. The phone lines had gone down from the sheer number of phone calls. Derek moved around the car, adrenaline coursing through his veins, numbing the pain. There was no way that he was going to fit through the windows. They had been too far bent out of shape from the force of the impact. Derek tried desperately to breathe as the heat intensified and the smoke grew thicker.

Bailey ran through the hall of the surgical ward.

"Are you all okay?" she asked, spotting Meredith, Izzie, Cristina and Lexie crowded in the hall by a bed.

"Cristina's broken her ankle," Izzie said.

"Let me look at it," Bailey said, concerned.

"It's fine," Cristina insisted. "Where do you want me?"

"Show me your ankle," Bailey said again, even more determined. Cristina allowed Bailey to take her swollen ankle in her hands.

"Ow!" she said, as she felt the pain jolt through her foot.

"It sure is broken," Bailey confirmed. "You won't need surgery though."

"I'll be fine, really. I-" Cristina started. Bailey put her hand up, indicating for Cristina to stop.

"Yang, an earthquake just hit Seattle. I don't have time to be arguing with you."

"An earthquake?" Lexie asked, her eyes widening.

"That's right," Bailey said. "A goddamn earthquake. They're gonna need all the beds and x rays they can get soon so, Grey, I want you to take Yang to the surgeon's lounge and give her some morphine for the pain. Then I want you to join me, Grey and Stevens in the pit." Meredith nodded.

"I don't need morphine," Cristina insisted.

"You'll take the morphine," Bailey ordered. "Not only will it be in your best interests but I won't have to worry about you trying to scrub in on surgeries. Let's go people." Bailey, Izzie and Lexie headed down to the ER while Meredith tried to help Cristina to the surgeon's lounge.

"She's drugging me against my will," Cristina protested as Meredith stopped at the drugs cabinet to get the morphine. "She's giving me morphine to keep me away."

"You need morphine to keep you away," Meredith said wryly. "Just sit back and enjoy the trip."

The first ambulances from the carnage of the earthquake began arriving at the ER of Seattle Grace hospital.

"Here we go," Alex said, putting his coat on and rubbing his hands together as interns swarmed around. He was disappointed to realize that the first wave of injuries had come from the areas around the hospital away from the epicenter of the earthquake. The injuries consisted of minor cuts and injuries from falls caused by the tremor. "Go for your lives," he said to the interns who were waiting for directions. The overjoyed interns were happy to pick their cases.

"I hate being an intern," George grumbled to himself, knowing that Alex was going to get the good cases.

"We need some doctors to go into the city," a paramedic shouted out. Lexie looked at Bailey hopefully.

"Go," Bailey said, sending Lexie and the rest of Cristina's interns, as well as a few residents, to the scene, glad that she didn't have to deal with them. Lexie nervously climbed into the back of the ambulance with the others, completely unprepared for what she was about to see.

Mark Sloan had headed back to the hospital from Joe's bar as soon as he heard the tremor. He didn't wait to be paged. He went into the surgeon's lounge to change into his scrubs, mentally preparing himself for the fights over the OR's that would ensue.

"Why hello there," he heard someone say from the couch as he took his shirt off. He turned around to see Cristina Yang lying on the couch smiling seductively at him. He looked at her, puzzled.

"She's on morphine," Meredith explained, applying ice to Cristina's swollen ankle.

"Ahh," Mark said, understanding.

"They should call you McSexy," Cristina said. "Why don't you come over here and I'll-"

"Cristina, that's enough," Meredith said as Mark changed into his scrubs. Mark laughed to himself.

"I really have to get to the pit," Meredith said to Cristina who wasn't paying any attention to her. "Stay right here. I don't want to have to tie you to the couch but I will do it."

"Oh my God," Lexie said aloud as she stepped out of the back of the ambulance.

"Cool!" Steve, another intern said.

"Spread out and remember how to triage," Jeremy, one of the residents, ordered. The interns and residents scattered over the worst hit area of Seattle which had descended into chaos. Lexie stood there in shock.

"Are you a doctor?" A fire fighter called out. Lexie nodded, anxiously. "We need you over here," he said. Lexie nervously rushed over to where he was calling from, clutching her first aid kit.

"He's burnt," the fire fighter said, standing by a car which had been partially incinerated. The fire fighters had pulled the top off the car but had been afraid to move the almost completely unconscious passenger. Lexie stopped suddenly. The smell of burnt flesh was so powerful that it nearly knocked her to the ground.

"What are you waiting for?" the firefighter asked. Lexie rushed over to the wreckage and the injured man. She could see that his torso and leg had been burnt.

"You're going to be okay," she said nervously to the man. She took an instrument from her medical kit and looked down his throat.

"His airways have been burnt," she said. "He has third degree burns. We need to get him to the hospital right now before his airways close up." The fire fighter ran over to find a paramedic. Lexie put a temporary dressing over the worst burns as best as she could. The man grabbed her hand.

"Doctor Shepherd?" she said in disbelief, only just realizing who it was. She has been so concerned with assessing and treating his injuries that she hadn't realized that it was him. His breathing was more shallow than she would have liked it to be but he was holding on. He looked scared.

"You're going to be okay," she said to him, not knowing if he really would. An ambulance quickly pulled up by the vehicle and the paramedics put an oxygen mask on him and prepared him for transport to Seattle Grace hospital.


	3. Chapter 3

Hey everyone

Hey everyone. I'm glad that this fic has found an audience. Thank you so much to all who have reviewed. Please continue to leave reviews as it keeps me updating.

**CHAPTER THREE**

Derek was clutching Lexie's hand as the paramedics helped him into the ambulance. He uncharacteristically had fear in his eyes.

"We'll take it from here," one of the paramedics said.

"No," Lexie said, defiantly. "I'm coming with you."

"You need to stay here," the paramedic replied. Lexie looked around as another ambulance full of doctors arrived at the scene.

"There's enough doctors here," she said. "He needs a doctor to travel with him. I'm coming with you."

"Fine," the paramedic said. Lexie monitored Derek's breathing which was becoming increasingly shallow.

"We should sedate him and put him on a ventilator," the paramedic said. Derek groaned and moved around in protest. Lexie knew why.

"No," she said.

"The man needs to go on a ventilator before his airways close up," the paramedic argued.

"Not yet," Lexie said, pulling rank.

"No ventilator," Derek managed to stammer.

"He can make it to the hospital without having to be intubated," Lexie insisted, knowing that was what Derek wanted. The paramedic looked skeptical. "His girlfriend works at the hospital." The paramedic rolled her eyes.

"Your judgment had better be right or he'll never see his girlfriend again." Lexie glared at the paramedic.

"Drive!" She said angrily.

"Chief!" Erica Hahn called out. "I need OR one. I have a suspected aortic tear coming in that needs immediate surgery."

"OR one is mine," Mark Sloan argued. "I have a burns patient coming in. Damage to the chest and airways." Richard tried to remain calm under pressure.

"Doctor Hahn has OR one. Doctor Sloan, OR two will be ready in approximately thirty minutes, as soon as Doctor Torres is finished with her patient. By the time you stabilize your patient, it will be ready."

"Fair enough," Mark said.

"Here's my patient," Erica said, as she saw an ambulance pull up at the ER doors.

"This is Adele Webber," the paramedic said. "Fifty one years old. Suspected aortic tear, significant blood loss, vitals deteriorating." Richard froze upon hearing his ex wife's name.

"Let's get her up to OR one now!" Erica ordered.

"Adele?" Richard said in disbelief. He rushed over to his unconscious ex wife's side. "Adele!"

"There's no time, Richard," Erica said forcefully, realizing that she was Richard's ex wife. "We need to get her into surgery now." Richard took a step back, his head spinning and his heart pounding as he reeled from the shock of what had just happened.

"Sir?" George asked, having seen everything. "Are you okay?"

"No, O'Malley, I am not okay," Richard said. "I want you to scrub in on Adele's surgery and keep me updated."

"But Chief, I'm needed down here," George said, looking around the chaotic ER.

"No, you're needed by Adele's side in the OR. Now go!" Richard ordered.

"Yes, Sir," George said. As George got into the elevator he gave Bailey a concerned look. She had seen everything.

"Chief, why don't you sit down," Bailey said, going over to him. "You've had a shock and-"

"I'm fine," Richard snapped. "Get back to work."

George ran into the surgeon's lounge and grabbed one of Alex's scrub caps from his locker. He had been so surprised by the earthquake that he had forgotten to bring one of his own scrub caps to the hospital. Just as George went to leave the surgeon's lounge, he heard a wolf whistle from the couch. He stopped, confused, and turned to see Cristina staring at him seductively.

"Why hello there baby boy," she growled.

"Um…" George said, completely shocked and confused.

"Why don't you come over here and play?" Cristina asked. "Don't be shy."

"I… um…" George said.

"You know you want it," Cristina said.

"I… have… to… um… surgery!' George exclaimed, clearly freaking out. He rushed out of the surgeon's lounge, trying to make sense of what had just happened. He saw Alex walking through the hall looking smug.

"I just got in on a plastics surgery," Alex said smiling.

"I think Cristina was just hitting on me," George said, in a deadpan voice as they passed each other. Alex laughed.

"Yeah right, O'Malley," he said.

Meredith breathed a sigh of relief as she successfully realigned a patient's dislocated shoulder. Callie was in surgery, leaving Meredith to attempt the procedure by herself. She gently placed the patient's arm in a sling and wrote a prescription for pain relief before sending the patient on his way. Another ambulance pulled up at the hospital.

"Stevens!" Mark shouted out to where Izzie had finished sutures. "You want in on a surgery?"

"Are you kidding?" Izzie asked, pleased to have something more to do.

"Karev is prepping the OR," Mark said. "I need you to help me with the patient." Izzie nodded and rushed over to where Mark was. The paramedics wheeled in the patient in who was holding on to Lexie's hand.

"I'm Doctor Sloan," Mark said to the patient, looking straight at his injuries and not at his face.

"Mark…" Derek managed to say. Mark locked eyes with Derek, his patient, in a moment of confusion.

"Derek?" he asked, in disbelief.

"Holy crap," Izzie said, noticing who their patient was.

"He's suffering from third degree burns," Lexie said, sounding worried. "His breathing has slowed and become increasingly shallow. There's evidence of damage to the respitory system."

"Why hasn't he been put on a ventilator?" Mark demanded angrily.

"No ventilator," Derek groaned in pain. "You're not sedating me."

"I'm gonna take care of you, man," Mark said, trying to push his fears aside.

Meredith pulled back the curtain after finishing with her patient and looked around to see who was next.

"Meredith!' she heard Lexie call out.

"_Dammit, Lexie, what now? _Meredith thought to herself. She looked over Lexie and saw a look of dread in her eyes.

"What is it?" Meredith asked.

"It's Derek," Lexie replied. At first Meredith assumed that Derek had arrived at the hospital for his consult but her eyes quickly wandered to the patient that Mark and Izzie were trying to stabilize.

"Oh my God," Meredith said, immediately noticing his painful injuries and feeling as though her heart was being ripped out of her chest. She couldn't move.

"I need OR two cleared!" Mark shouted, clearly stressed by the situation. Izzie looked equally as frantic.

"Meredith," Bailey said, approaching her resident. Meredith didn't even hear her. She couldn't hear anything. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion. "Meredith," Bailey said again. With Richard frantic over Adele's condition, she had been forced to take the lead. Bailey took Meredith gently by the arm and led her over to Derek's side. Derek looked up at Meredith who could hardly believe what was happening. She wasn't used to Derek being the vulnerable one and now he needed her. He let go of Lexie's hand and grabbed tightly on to Meredith.

"Derek," Izzie said. "Your airways are closing up. We need to sedate you and put you on a ventilator; a machine to help you breathe while we treat you. I know it sounds scary but it's the best option." Izzie was aware that Derek knew what a ventilator was, but at that moment, he was her patient, not her boss. Derek lifted the oxygen mask off of his face and tried to say something but he chocked on the words. He tried again, looking into Meredith's eyes.

"I… I love-" he started, before losing consciousness. Meredith gasped, frightened as Mark quickly gave Derek an injection and inserted a tube into his throat and attached it to a portable machine.

"His stats are improving," Izzie said, looking at the monitor.

"OR two is ready," a nurse shouted out.

"Let's move!" Mark yelled as they rushed Derek into surgery.


	4. Chapter 4

Thank you to everybody who has reviewed this fic

Thank you to everybody who has reviewed this fic. Please continue to read and review.

**CHAPTER FOUR**

Mark's could feel his heart pounding heavily in his chest as he rode the elevator, with Izzie and Derek, their patient, to the surgical floor. He tried to stay calm. Izzie was watching Derek, sedated and breathing via a machine, sadly.

"He's gonna make it, right?" she asked Mark.

"Yes," Mark said with more certainly than he felt. "Not making it isn't an option." He didn't even want to think about that possibility. When the elevator doors opened they were met by chaos on the surgical floor. Patients in beds were lined up in the halls due to overcrowding. Doctors and nurses ran about, giving orders. The smell of burnt flesh hit them like a tonne of bricks.

"Move!" Mark shouted to the crowd as he and Izzie led Derek straight to OR 2. When they reached the OR, Alex, an anesthetist and a team of surgical nurses took over while Mark and Izzie went to the scrub room.

"Keep him stable, Karev!" Mark warned as he ran his arms under the scalding water. Alex's eyes widened in shock when he saw who the patient was.

"Oh my God," he said to himself.

xxx

"Meredith," Bailey said, trying to get her resident's attention. "Meredith," she said again, a little louder, taking her arm. Meredith had been staring at the spot where Derek had been lying in the ER, which was now occupied by another patient. She hadn't moved at all. "I can't let you go home," Bailey said gently. "There could be aftershocks and we're overwhelmed here. Now we're gonna keep you updated on Derek but right now I need you to take a few minutes and then start helping patients again." Meredith tried to respond but she couldn't move.

"Meredith," Lexie said from nearby. Meredith hadn't even realized that Lexie had been standing there. She finally managed to look away from where Derek had been and into the eyes of her sister. "Come on," Lexie said, holding her hand out to Meredith. She didn't expect her to take it, but to her surprise, she did. Lexie led Meredith away as Bailey got back to overseeing the surgical cases in the ER.

Lexie took Meredith outside around to the side of the hospital away from the carnage. Meredith leant against the wall, looking and feeling as though she would collapse if she didn't.

"I know that this is a horrible situation," Lexie said to her. "This whole night sucks. But Derek's strong. He's a fighter. You know he is. He's gonna get through this. And so are you." Meredith felt a tear fall down her cheek. She wiped it away and nodded. Although she didn't know if Derek would get through the night, she knew that he would fight like hell. "We have to get back to work," Lexie said as another ambulance pulled up at the hospital doors. Meredith wiped another tear away and followed Lexie back to the ER.

Xxx

Richard sat at the desk in his office. He had come to the conclusion that he would be useless in the ER. He couldn't think of anything but Adele. They hadn't spoken in months but that didn't mean that he didn't love her. Richard felt anger towards himself. Anger for putting his job before his wife; choosing work over family. He couldn't bring himself to put surgery first now that her life was on the line.

Richard numbly looked out the glass doors of his office to the chaos surrounding him. He checked his watch again. There was still no news on how Adele was doing. No news usually meant good news in the surgical world but that was of little comfort to the Chief of surgery.

Xxx

"Doctor Sloan…" Izzie said, unsure, as Mark stood over Derek who had been anesthetized. "We should probably start…"

"Yes," Mark replied, sounding detached from her. He closed his eyes for a moment and tried to forget that he was about to operate on his best friend, the man who was like a brother to him. He knew that to do his best work he had to think of Derek as any other patient.

"Ten blade," he said to a scrub nurse who had done her best to remove Derek's shirt. She handed him a scalpel.

"He's developed a subeschar edema," Alex said. "It could affect his arterial blood flow." Mark glared at him.

"That's why we have him on the table," he said viciously. "Do you think I'm cutting him open for fun?" Alex didn't respond. He wasn't used to seeing Mark like this. Mark got to work on Derek's severely burnt chest, trying to prevent damage to his heart and lungs. He continued to operate in silence, with Alex and Izzie not daring to say anything. Suddenly one of the monitors raised an alarm.

"His stats are dropping," Izzie said gravely. Mark looked at the monitor, fear gripping him.

"What the hell is going on?" he asked, confused. Alex examined Derek.

"Pneumothorax," he said. "His lung's collapsed. Mark didn't believe him for a moment. Surely he would have noticed that. He went around to where Alex was.

"You need to relieve the pressure," Izzie said, urgently, watching Derek's status deteriorate on the monitor. Mark felt as though he couldn't breathe. He looked from Derek's burns to the monitor to Derek's face. This all had to be a bad dream. Alex handed him a small needle. Mark took it with a trembling hand and dropped it as he tried to insert it. He took a step back, unable to stop looking at Derek's face.

"Doctor Sloan," Izzie said urgently. "You need to relieve the pressure now." Mark took another step back before turning and leaving the OR.

"Shit!" Alex shouted.

"What the hell is he doing?" Izzie asked, panicked. "He can't just leave us here with…" she looked at Derek's face, knowing why Mark had panicked.

"Hand me a needle," Izzie suddenly said to Alex.

"You've gotta be crazy," Alex said, realizing that Izzie was going to attempt the procedure.

"I don't want to be the one to tell Meredith that her boyfriend died on our table," Izzie shouted. "Now hand me the godamn needle!" Alex did as he was told. Izzie took a shaky breath before lining up the right spot, which was difficult with Derek's burns. She swiftly stuck the needle in between Derek's ribs and breathed a sigh of relief as she heard a puff of air as the lung reinflated.

"Nice work, Doctor Stevens," a scrub nurse said. "His status is improving."

"Thanks," Izzie said, relieved that they had overcome this obstacle. She looked at Alex who was visibly impressed by what she'd done.  
"I don't know what to do now," she admitted. "It's not like we had time to study up on this."

"We need to get Sloan back in here," Alex said, worried.

Xxx

Bailey ran through the hospital at a hectic pace. Every resident and intern in the hospital had been tied up with patients and they were fast running out of supplies. She ran to the surgeon's lounge after finding that every supply closet on the way had been raided. When she reached the surgeon's lounge she grabbed as many supplies as she could carry, barely noticing morphine affected Cristina lying on the couch having an animated conversation with herself.

Bailey ran though the ward with the supplies but stopped in her tracks as she saw Mark Sloan standing in a corner, clearly having an anxiety attack. Her heart sunk as she feared the worst.

"Doctor Sloan…" she said, trying to keep her voice steady as she approached him. Mark was trying to breathe but was clearly overwhelmed and oblivious to the fact that he was losing his cool in front of a colleague, "What happened?" Bailey asked.

"I can't do this," Mark said, shaking his head, his voice trembling. "I can't perform surgery on him while he's just lying there… I can't…" he struggled to breathe again.

"I need you to calm down," Bailey said, relieved that Derek was still alive, but realizing that Alex and Izzie had been left in the OR with him. "You can save his life. If you don't go back in there, he could die." Mark tried to regain his composure. "You need to get him through this," Bailey continued. "You're the only person who can get him through this." Mark knew that she was right. Bailey managed to free one of her hands and rested it on top of one of Mark's trembling hands until it stopped shaking. "You can do this," she said. Mark blinked away tears. He was too scared to feel embarrassed about his display of emotion. He took a deep breath, turned around and went back into the OR.


	5. Chapter 5

Thank you to the people who have reviewed this story

Thank you to the people who have reviewed this story. I really like reading your comments. It's great to hear from you. It's also great to get such a positive response to portraying a more human side to Mark. I never believed that he was just a 'dirty mistress' and I'm glad that others agree.

Anyway, I hope you like this next chapter. Please review for me.

**CHAPTER FIVE **

Izzie and Alex breathed a sigh of relief when they saw Mark Sloan re enter the OR.

"Thank God," Izzie said quietly. She had no idea what to do next.

"He's stable," Alex said to Mark. Mark checked where Izzie had stuck the needle into Derek's chest to reinflate his collapsed lung.

"You did good, Doctor Stevens," he said, admiring her work. Izzie smiled a little to herself, knowing that Mark rarely gave out such praise. Mark couldn't help but look at Derek's face once again. He wasn't used to being the one calling the shots. Not without Derek there to fight him.

"Doctor Sloan," Izzie said nervously, silently praying that Mark wasn't going to panic and leave them alone once again. "How do we proceed?" Mark cleared his throat and forced himself to look away from Derek's face.

"We treat the burns as best as possible," he said, regaining his composure. "No skin grafts just yet. That comes later." Alex and Izzie nodded like eager students. "Let's go," Mark said in a determined voice.

Xxx

Doctor Erica Hahn exited OR one as Callie Torres rushed another patient into surgery. Some days being a surgeon sucked, she thought to herself. Especially those days where no amount of surgical intervention was going to save a patient who was too far gone in the first place.

"Do you know the Chief well, Doctor O'Malley?" Erica asked George as he approached her.

"Kind of," George said uncomfortably. He looked up at her nervously. "Do you want me to be the one to tell him?" Erica shook her head.

"I wouldn't make you do that on your own," she said. "I just wondered whether it would make it easier if you were there when I told him the news."

"Well it couldn't make it worse," George volunteered. They walked down the hall together and spotted Richard through the glass walls of his office sitting at his desk. He looked as though he was praying or concentrating really hard.

"I feel like the angel of death again," George mumbled. Erica looked at him oddly before knocking on the door to Richard's office. He looked up at them as soon as he heard the knock. Erica opened the door, not wanting to break the news to him in the crowded surgical hall.

"How's Adele?" Richard asked. "I want to see her."

"I need you to take a seat, Doctor Webber," Erica said firmly, giving George a look to remind him that they were talking to Richard in his capacity as a patient's relative and not as the Chief of Surgery. Richard didn't sit down. He looked at them gravely.

"I'm so sorry," Erica said, sympathetically yet professionally. "We did everything that we could. She had a tear in the aorta and she bled out before it could be repaired." Richard stared at Erica in disbelief before turning his attention to George, as if wanting him to confirm it.

"I'm so sorry," George said in a quiet voice. Richard clenched his jaw, feeling as though his entire world was crumbling before him.

"She's…." he stammered. "Adele is…"

"If there's anything that you need-" Erica started.

"I need to be left alone right now," Richard said with quiet anger. Erica nodded. She turned and left his office, trailed by George who glanced over his shoulder at the Chief on his way out. When they were gone, Richard stood there for a moment alone, taking in what he had just been told. He picked up a vase from the desk and threw it at the wall in anger. It smashed and fell to the ground in a hundred tiny pieces.

Xxx

"Do you know how many people are dead?" Meredith's patient, an annoying woman in her twenties, chewing gum loudly, asked.

"No," Meredith said quietly as she examined her swollen wrist, trying to keep her mind on the job and away from Derek, as hard as that was.

"Ow!" The woman screeched in her high pitched voice. "You're hurting me." Meredith sighed.

"I think your wrist's broken," she said.

"You think?" her patient asked, unimpressed. "Aren't you meant to know these things?"

"It needs to be confirmed by an x ray," Meredith said.

"Well while I'm waiting can you find out how many people are dead?"

"When would I have time to do that?" Meredith asked, stressed out and annoyed, gesturing around the crowded ER.

"I just hope my boyfriend's one of the dead," the woman said, sticking another piece of chewing gum in her mouth. "I'm about to break up with him. That bastard deserves to burn in hell." Meredith's mind wandered back to Derek and his injuries. She felt sick in the stomach.

"I'm going to go organize an x ray," she said, turning and walking away before she snapped at her patient.

Meredith went to the nurses' station. There were no nurses or interns available to schedule the x ray so she called radiology herself. The phone lines were busy so she waited on hold, keeping an eye on her patient. She couldn't believe what she'd just said. Meredith closed her eyes and rested her head against the wall as she waited for someone to answer the phone. She again thought back to Derek. He'd passed out just as he was saying 'I love you;' the words that Meredith felt but had been too scared to say out loud. She wondered if she'd ever get to say them. Her whole body ached with stress and fatigue. She needed an update on Derek. There had been no sign of Mark or Izzie since they took him into surgery. Her patience was wearing thin. Finally someone picked up the phone and Meredith scheduled an x ray for her patient.

"Have you heard about the death toll yet?" the patient asked as Meredith went back to her.

"No," Meredith answered, not wanting to get into an argument. Suddenly the patient's phone rang.

"You can't have phones in here," Meredith said. The patient ignored her, checking to see who was calling.

"It's my boyfriend," she said with a roll of the eyes. "Guess he's still alive."

"Do you need some help, Doctor Grey?" Lexie asked, approaching Meredith who appeared tense.

"Take over here," Meredith said, handing Lexie the patient notes and walking away before she said something she'd regret.

Xxx

Erica Hahn went into the surgeon's lounge, exhausted after Adele's emergency surgery. She knew that it was only a matter of time before she'd be paged again so she made herself a coffee while she could.

"Why hello there cardio goddess," a familiar voice said. Erica turned around to see Cristina lying on the couch smiling at her strangely.

"Hi," Erica said, confused. She turned back to the coffee machine only to hear Cristina making a growling noise.

"What the hell are you doing, Yang?" Erica asked, irritably.

"Lusting," Cristina whispered sensually. Erica shook her head, confused, grabbed her coffee and left.

Xxx

"How's his status?" Mark asked as he worked on Derek's injuries.

"He's holding up well," Alex said, looking at the monitor.

"He's been under anesthetic for a long time," Izzie said, concerned.

"I know," Mark said as he worked, making a concerted effort not to look at Derek's face. "I won't keep him under much longer now that he's out of immedieate danger. I'm just doing my best to control the scarring."

"But he will need further surgeries?" Izzie asked.

"Absolutely," Mark replied. "And I want you in on those surgeries, Stevens. You've impressed me considerably today." Izzie looked satisfied with herself and noticed a touch of jealousy in Alex's eyes.

Suddenly everything started shaking again, almost as violently as the first time.

"Holy crap!" Alex said as they tried to grab on to something whilst keeping Derek stable.

"Aftershock," Mark said, taking a deep breath as the shaking ceased.

"Lucky we weren't holding scalpels," Izzie said, relieved. The nurses started cleaning up the mess that the aftershock had caused as everybody in the hospital braced themselves for another influx of patients.


	6. Chapter 6

Thank you to the reviewers. I'm really glad that you like this story. And don't worry; I intend to keep the relationship between Mark and Izzie strictly professional. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Please review.

**CHAPTER SIX**

Meredith gripped onto her patient's bed until the trembling from the aftershock subsided. She took a deep breath. This only added to the stress that she was feeling. Stress from worrying about Derek and stress from doing solo procedures well above her level of experience due to the sheer number of patients outnumbering doctors.

"Are you okay?" her patient, a gentle, elderly man asked her.

"I'm fine," Meredith said, faking a smile. "More importantly, are you okay? That was some aftershock."

"I'm fine," the man said, trying to sit up. "You're gonna have more patients now. You don't need me here."

"I need you to stay in bed, Sir," Meredith insisted.

"No, really, I feel much better," the man insisted. "You shouldn't be wasting your time on an old man."

"It's not wasting time," Meredith said softly. "I've paged our head of cardio to look over your case."

"Too much trouble," the patient insisted.

"It's no trouble at all," Meredith replied. "I promise." Meredith's pager went off.

"You should get that," her patient said.

"Okay," Meredith said with a little smile. "Doctor Hahn will be here in a moment." Meredith pulled her pager out of her pocket with trembling hands. It was Mark Sloan. She waited for a nurse to finish on the phone before calling him, not having the courage to go upstairs.

"What's happened?" Meredith asked when Mark answered.

"He's out of surgery," Mark said. "We had to treat a collapsed lung and I did as much as I could on the burns. His status is improving but we're putting him in intensive care. He's still on the ventilator and I wanna keep him on it until his airways get stronger. He will need more surgery though." Meredith blinked tears away. "Meredith?" Mark asked. "Did you hear me? The surgery went well."

"I know," Meredith replied, her voice shaking. "Thank you."

"You can see him whenever you want," Mark said.

"Thank you," Meredith said again. "I'm stuck in the ER at the moment but I'll be up to see him when I can."

"Okay," Mark said. "Keep your chin up, kiddo."

"Doctor Grey," Erica Hahn said, moodily, approaching Meredith at the nurses' station. Meredith hung up the phone and swallowed hard to stop herself from crying.

"Yes, Doctor Hahn," Meredith said in her best professional voice.

"Where the hell is our patient?"

"I'm sorry?" Meredith asked, not following.

"The patient you paged me to see?" Erica demanded, hands on hips. Meredith went over to the bed and saw that it was empty.

"Shit!" she said to herself, looking around the ER in a vein attempt to locate the patient. "He was just here."

"Well now he's not," Erica snapped. "And if could do your job properly this wouldn't have happened. In case you haven't noticed, I don't have time to be chasing after lost patients because I have another ten waiting to see me."

"I'll… I'll find him," Meredith stammered. "You see your other patients and I'll find him." Meredith took off, looking for her patient, wondering how far he could have got in a minute.

"Doctor Hahn," Bailey said, approaching the attending. "May I ask why you were shouting at my resident?" Erica gestured towards the empty bed. "I see" Bailey said. "Just… try to take it easier on her tonight. She's under a lot of stress."

"Aren't we all?" Erica asked.

"You haven't heard have you?" Bailey asked.

"Heard what?"

"Derek Shepherd was brought in here with respitory injuries and burns. He's been in surgery most of the night." For the first time all night, Erica was speechless.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Should one of us sit with him?" Izzie asked Mark as Derek was moved to ICU." Mark shook his head.

"They ER's gotta be overflowing. You're needed back there."

"So are you," Alex added.

"I know," Mark added. "I'll be down soon. Stevens," he called after Izzie as they started to leave.

"Yes, Doctor Sloan?" Izzie asked.

"Keep your pager close. I want you in on my surgeries tonight."

"Thank you, Doctor Sloan," Izzie said with a smile. Mark took a step closer to Derek when Alex and Izzie were gone.

"That girl saved your life" he said, pulling up a chair beside Derek. "You'd better pull through this, Derek. I'll kick your ass if you don't. We'd all be lost without you here." Mark watched his best friend lying there unconscious and breathing via a machine. "I'm not used to you not having a snappy comeback," he admitted. "So I'm gonna go. Just hang in there, alright? I'll be back soon." Mark took a deep breath, overcome by emotion, and steadied himself before heading towards the nurses' station. "If he so much as looks different I want you to page me," he warned the nurse in charge. "If anything happens and I'm not told about it, this is on you."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Chief?" Bailey asked, peering into his office but seeing no sign of Richard. Just broken glass scattered on the floor. "Chief, are you in here?" she asked, stepping into his office. She heard him before she saw him. A guttural sob escaped from Richard's body and Bailey rushed to where he was sitting, behind his desk, clutching the framed photograph of Adele that had stood there for years. "Oh no," Bailey said to herself, realizing what had happened. There hadn't been time to ask Erica Hahn about Adele during their confrontation. "I am so sorry," Bailey said, resting her hand comfortingly on Richard's back.

"I need to be left alone," Richard said, tears streaming down his face. "Please, just leave me alone." Bailey didn't like that idea but there really wasn't time to argue. It worried her to see the Chief of Surgery so emotional and vulnerable, almost unrecognizable in his pain.

"I'll come back soon," Bailey said, not listening to Richard's protests as she left his office. Bailey jogged into the surgeon's lounge, looking for supplies. The interns had been gone for a long time and she needed them to run menial tasks like this. When she reached the surgeon's lounge, Bailey began raiding the closets for medical supplies.

"What's this I hear about you hitting on everything with a pulse?" she asked Cristina who was lying on the couch.

"That's true," Callie said from her locker as she changed into a fresh scrub shirt. "I won't even repeat what she said to me when I tried to examine her ankle. I feel so violated."

There was no reply. The morphine had finally put Cristina to sleep, albeit in an unflattering position with her mouth wide open and drool threatening to land on the expensive sofa.

"Whatever am I gonna do with you people?" Bailey asked herself before leaving the room.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Maybe I should come back as a model in my next life," Alex said to Izzie as they rode the elevator to the ER. "I'd get in on better surgeries that way." Izzie rolled her eyes.

"Don't give me that," she said. "You know that I kicked ass in there. I saved Shepherd's life while you and Mark panicked." Alex mumbled something inaudibly. He knew that Izzie was right. "I never thought about a career in plastics but maybe it's my calling," she said purely to tease Alex. The elevator doors opened and they were confronted by a distressed looking Meredith.

"Have you seen a patient?" Meredith asked. "I've lost a patient."

"Description?" Izzie asked.

"Um… elderly man in his seventies, white hair… um…"

"It's okay Mer, we'll find him," Izzie said as they stepped out of the elevator.

"It'll be okay," Alex said, worried about Meredith. "I'll look outside. You guys check the other floors." Meredith nodded and stepped into the elevator with Izzie while Alex ran outside.

**Thoughts?**


	7. Chapter 7

CHAPTER SEVEN

**CHAPTER SEVEN**

"Doctor Grey," Erica Hahn said, spotting a flustered Meredith frantically running through the ED. "I owe you an apology."

"I'm trying to find the missing patient," Meredith said,

"It's okay," Erica said. "He's fine. There was a mix up and the nurses took him for a CT scan instead of another patient. He's back now and I'm doing the consult." Meredith breathed a sigh of relief. "And I'm sorry I was so hard on you. I had no idea that Derek was injured."

"It's fine," Meredith said. "Is the patient okay?"

"He's a little confused but he's fine," Erica replied. "How's Derek?"

"Stable, I think," Meredith replied. "I haven't been able to see him yet. We've been too busy here."

"Go and see him now," Erica said. "I can do the consult without you."

"Are you sure?" Meredith asked.

"I'm sure," Erica replied. "I'll page you if I need you."

"Thank you, Doctor Hahn," Meredith said. "I think Izzie and Alex are still looking for the patient."

"I'll take care of it," Erica said, still feeling guilty over the way she had treated Meredith.

Meredith rode the elevator to ICU where she stood nervously by the nurses' station, unable to go any further. She had welcomed the distraction of having so many patients to deal with in the ER because it had stopped her from falling apart completely. But now there was nothing to distract her from what she had to face.

"Meredith?" Meredith heard George's voice behind her. "Hey," he said sympathetically. "Are you here to see Derek?" Meredith nodded. George could tell how scared she was. "I just finished up with a patient. Do you want me to go with you?" Meredith nodded.

"Yeah that would be good," she said gratefully, relieved that George was there.

"I checked on him just before," George said, trying to reassure Meredith.

"How is he?" Meredith asked.

"His face looks just the same," George said. "Except he's on a ventilator. The burns are on his chest, arm and leg. Try to focus on his face." Meredith nodded, her eyes welling with tears. "Come on," George said. Meredith just stood there, her legs frozen and unable to move. George took her hand in his and led her gently to Derek's room. Meredith was glad that George was there. She didn't feel strong enough to go in there alone.

Meredith allowed George lead her inside to where Derek was lying unconscious. He was connected to machines, the way that Meredith saw patients all the time; however, the shock still hit her hard. She grabbed on to George for a moment to steady herself just as George's pager went off.

"Crap!" George exclaimed. This was not the time to be paged. "Mer, I'm so sorry but they're bringing more people into the pit. I have to go," he said reluctantly.

"It's okay," Meredith said. "Thank you," she added, appreciatively, grateful that George had been there. George gave Meredith a sad smile, his heart breaking for what she was going though, before he left her alone with Derek.

Meredith took a deep breath and went over to where Derek was. It was eerily quiet in the ICU ward, a stark contrast to the deafening roar of panicked civilians in the ER. Although George had told her not to, Meredith couldn't help but look at Derek's burns. They looked deep and painful; she knew from her training that they would require multiple skin grafts and that when he woke up he would be in an enormous amount of pain.

'_Try to focus on his face,' _Meredith repeated George's words in her mind. She took a seat next to Derek's bed and took his hand in hers. It was warm and comforting. Meredith's eyes wandered away from Derek's burns and to his face which hasn't been burnt. Meredith looked past the ventilator and kissed Derek on the forehead before running her fingers through his hair.

"I love you," she whispered. It wasn't something that she'd planned to say or that she regretted saying after. It had just come out as though it were the most natural thing in the world. Meredith closed her eyes and rested her head against Derek's, breathing him in. She wasn't sure how much time had passed before her pager went off, bringing her back to reality. Meredith didn't want to leave Derek but she couldn't leave patients stranded without a doctor either.

"I'll be back as soon, I promise," Meredith whispered to Derek, kissing him again on his forehead. "I love you," she said again before leaving the room.

It pained Meredith to leave Derek at a time like this. It was almost a physical pain, as though a lead weight was sitting on her chest. Meredith tried not to cry as she stepped back out into the hectic halls of the hospital. She waited for the elevator doors to open and when they did she went to the back of the crowded elevator where she spotted Alex. Meredith was glad to see him. She knew that he wouldn't ask her a million questions or tell her that everything was going to be alright when there were no guarantees. Alex simply put his arm around her, the way an older brother might do. Meredith leaned against Alex was they rode the elevator, trying to draw the strength that she needed from him to go back to the ER. When they reached the ER, Meredith gave Alex a little grateful smile before they went their separate ways.

xxxxxxx

"Stevens, you are on fire tonight," Mark said, impressed by his resident's skill and precision in the OR as they worked on another burn victim. Mark had been so distracted by his concern for Derek that he had needed Izzie to be his second set of eyes. She hadn't let him down. "Have you ever thought of plastics as a specialty?" Mark asked as they operated.

"Not really," Izzie confessed.

"That's a shame," Mark said. "You're great with these burns patients."

"I want to make their recovery easier," Izzie said as she removed dead skin from the unconscious patient's face. "The more we do in here, the easier it will be for them."

"That's right," Mark agreed. "You realize that there isn't a hospital around here that's better equipped to deal with burns patients?"

"I guess not," Izzie replied.

"That means that we're going to have back to back surgeries for the next few months. Skin grafts, facial reconstructions. All day every day. It isn't gonna be easy and I'm gonna have to put a team together so that we get the work done. How would you like to be on that team?"

"Are you serious?" Izzie asked.

"I sure am," Mark replied. "If you're half as good as you've been in the OR tonight we'll be lucky to have you."

"I will be," Izzie promised, smiling beneath her surgical mask. She couldn't wait to see the reactions of the others.

**Thoughts?**


	8. Chapter 8

Thank you to the people who have reviewed. Please continue to review, even if it's just something small as it encourages me to keep writing. As I've said, I have no plans for McStizzie. I just prefer seeing another side to Mark and seeing Izzie practicing medicine and I think that they could make a good team professionally. Anyway, I hope that you enjoy this chapter.

**CHAPTER EIGHT **

"Hey buddy," Mark said, pulling a chair up beside Derek's bed in ICU. "How are you holding up?" He checked Derek's vitals. Nothing had changed. Mark sighed. He was relieved that Derek's condition hadn't deteriorated like he'd feared it would but at the same time, Mark had been secretly hoping for some kind of drastic improvement that would defy all logic. That hadn't happened. "I wish I could hang around and talk but there are a lot of burns tonight. I told you that plastics was more than just facelifts." He sighed again, wishing that he could stay longer. "I really have to go, Derek. Just… hang in there for me okay?" he said, looking around to make sure that no body was watching this softer side of him.

Mark adjusted his scrub cap as he left Derek's room. He noticed that the scrub cap was wet from perspiration due to the stressful way that the night had unfolded. Mark remembered that he'd left another scrub cap in the on call room where he'd been liaising with a special friend on the nursing staff earlier. Mark headed to the on call room of the surgical ward before he had to go to the OR and was surprised to find the door locked. He knocked on the door.

"Open up," he said, irritated by the hold up.

"In a minute," a shaky voice said back.

"Meredith?" Mark asked, recognizing the voice from inside the room.

"No," the voice replied. Mark knocked again.

"Open up, Meredith. I know it's you." There was reply for awhile and then the door to the unlocked from the inside but didn't open. Mark concluded that Meredith was not going to open the door so he opened it himself.

"Don't turn the lights on," Meredith said, from where she was sitting on a bed, her voice still shaking. Mark knew why. She had been crying. He closed the door behind him and locked it to prevent anybody else finding Meredith at her most vulnerable. Mark stood in the dark waiting for Meredith to say something but she didn't.

"I just saw Derek," Mark said, hoping that this would comfort her but it seemed to trigger the tears again. A sob escaped her. "He's holding up well."

"I know," Meredith whimpered. Mark seemed at a loss.

"I'm very confident that he'll get through this," Mark said but again this seemed to make Meredith worse.

"Just leave me," Meredith said. "It'll stop eventually."

"What will?" Mark asked, confused.

"This!" Meredith said, frustrated. "This crying. I didn't want to cry, I don't like crying, I hate it. I just came here to get myself together for a second and it started and now it won't stop!"

"It's a normal human reaction," Mark said, trying to be of some comfort to Meredith. "Or so they tell me," he said cheekily. This didn't seem to help Meredith who cried more.

"Please just go and leave me," Meredith pleaded.

"I'm not just gonna leave you here like this," Mark said. "Derek would kick my ass." Saying his name seemed to make Meredith worse again. Mark sat down beside Meredith and put his arm around her. He hated seeing her upset. He knew that Meredith was a strong person but this had started to break her. "Don't fight it," Mark whispered, showing Meredith a side of him that she had never seen before. "Just let it out. It's healthier to let it out." Mark pulled Meredith close to his chest as her tiny body racked with sobs. "I know how scared you were," Mark whispered softly as he stroked her hair. "And how hard it was to keep treating patients while he was in surgery. I know how scared you still are. I know how much you love him and how it kills you to see him like this. I need you to trust me and know that I'm not gonna let him go anywhere. I'm gonna bring him back to you. I'm Mark freaking Sloan. Nothing bad's gonna happen on my watch." Meredith nodded and started to pull away. "You're still crying," he observed.

"I know," Meredith replied, almost comically. "That really did make me feel better. I just can't seem to stop. It's like my body's payback for all the times I should have cried but didn't." Mark smiled.

"I'd offer you a tissue but I can't see in the dark to find one," he joked. Meredith managed to laugh a little.

"It's okay. I found a scrub cap," she said, whimpering. Mark made a face, deciding that Meredith could keep it. "You really should go back to surgery." Mark looked reluctant.

"I should stay until you stop crying," he said.

"Yeah well who knows how long that's gonna be?" Meredith asked. "Really, I'll be fine," she promised. "I think I just have to ride this one out."

"Okay," Mark sighed. "Just… page me if you need anything. Even if it's just a fresh scrub cap to blow your nose on." Meredith laughed

"Don't tell anyone I was crying," Meredith said.

"Only if you don't tell anyone that I was being nice," Mark replied, locking the door to the on call room and leaving Meredith sitting in the dark seemingly laughing and crying at the same time.

xxxxxxxx

Cristina stirred awake on the couch in the surgeon's lounge. For a minute she didn't know where she was. Everything seemed fuzzy.

"You're back," Nurse Tyler said unamused as he re iced Cristina's swollen ankle on Bailey's orders.

"Huh?" Cristina murmured. "Where did I go?"

"Off to fantasy land," Nurse Tyler replied. "And to answer your question, no I will not take my shirt off for you. Not for twenty dollars, not for fifty dollars… maybe for a hundred dollars."

"Huh?" Cristina asked, seriously confused.

"Greetings, Lady Marmalade," Callie as she went into the surgeon's lounge to change out of another blood stained scrub shirt.

"Why have you...? Cristina murmured, noticing the blood and wandering what juicy case Callie had. "Why is my ankle…? Why am I…?"

"And she's out again," Callie said as Cristina fell back to sleep.

xxxxxxxx

"Go away," Richard Webber mumbled from inside his office as he heard a knock on the door. He had been physically unable to move since the news of Adele's death. To his displeasure, the door opened anyway and George stepped in.

"I'm sorry, Chief," George started.

"I said go away!" Richard snapped back at him. George took a deep breath and continued.

"I'm sorry to ask this of you but we need you to formally identify Adele before they…" his voice trailed off. He knew that Richard knew what came next. Richard shook his head.

"I can't," he stammered. There was no trace of the Chief of Surgery in his voice. He was a man with a broken heart now.

"Somebody has to," George said, wishing that he was anywhere else in that moment. "If you'd like me to call somebody… Her sister perhaps?" Richard thought of what seeing Adele would put her family through. He knew that he couldn't do that to them. George went over to where Richard was sitting on the floor, slumped against his desk. He stepped over the pieces of broken glass where Richard had smashed the vase earlier and extended a hand to help Richard to his feet. When he was on his feet, with George's help, Richard began the sad trek to the hospital morgue.


	9. Chapter 9

Thank you to the reviewers. I hope that you enjoy this update.

**CHAPTER NINE**

George opened the door to the hospital morgue and allowed Richard to enter first. George hated going to the morgue on any occasion but this night made him hate it even but more. He took a deep breath and bravely led Richard over to the table where Adele was lying under a sheet. There were two men from the funeral home there waiting for a formal identification of the body so that they could transport her body and make room for more casualties in the already overcrowded morgue.

"Are you ready?" George asked Richard, wondering how somebody could ever be ready for a moment like this.

"Yes," Richard stammered, his voice filled with dread.

"Okay," George said softy. He carefully pulled the sheet back to reveal Adele's face. Thankfully it was relatively unscathed from the effects of the earthquake. The same couldn't be said for the rest of her body but thankfully Richard would never see that.

"That's her," Richard said, chocking back tears. "That's Adele."

"Okay," George said, sadly. He went to pull the sheet back over her face.

"Wait," Richard said, raising his hand to stop George. "I just want a moment alone with her."

"He needs a moment," George said to the undertakers.

"We're pressed for time," one of them said. "It's a very, very busy night. We're needed in ten different places right now."

"I understand that," George said as diplomatically as he could, "but it's his wife."

"One minute," the undertaker said.

"He'll take as long as he needs," George said sternly. The undertakers nodded and stepped outside. "I'll be outside," George said to Richard. Richard didn't hear him. He hadn't heard a word of what had been said. He was transfixed by Adele's face. She looked as lovely as ever. She seemed so serene, as though she was asleep and would wake up at any moment. There was nothing in her face that hinted at the horror that she had experienced in her final hours. Richard stroked the side of her face gently with his hand. It was cold.

"I'm sorry," he said, his voice breaking with emotion. "I'm so sorry, Adele… for everything. I love you. God, I love you so much." Richard heard the door to the morgue open.

"I'm sorry, Chief," George said, stepping in. "They need to bring more… people in." Richard nodded. He understood how it was. He kissed Adele softly on the lips and looked at her one last time, savoring every detail of her face. He couldn't bring himself to cover her face back up. He turned and started to walk out of the morgue, his heart aching with every step that he took. Richard couldn't help but notice the body of a child, a young girl approximately six years of age, being wheeled into the morgue as he left.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Cristina stirred awake again in the surgeon's lounge. She could hear a woman talking. It took her a moment to register that it was the reporter on the TV.

"Seattle has been declared a disaster zone in the wake of an earthquake measuring six on the Richter scale," the reporter said. "All roads leading into the city have been closed. The official death toll is listed at twenty six but that is expected to rise due to the massive number of seriously injured people…" Cristina watched on in horror. She looked at her swollen ankle.

"Oh you've got to be FREAKING KIDDING ME!" She shouted, more pissed off than she had been in a long time. She couldn't believe that she had missed out on what was possibly the biggest disaster to ever hit Seattle.

"Great, you're awake," Alex said, entering the surgeon's lounge with a stack of folders. It was his turn to check on Cristina. He went to the freezer to get some more ice for her ankle. Cristina looked at him bitterly. Alex couldn't help but laugh a little.

"Sucks to be you," he said.

"Shut up, evil spawn," Cristina snapped back, angrily. She hated being incapacitated almost as much as she hated being reliant on other people.

"Maybe we should get you some more morphine," Alex chuckled. "I hear you're much friendlier on that stuff."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Cristina asked. She clearly had no memory of her morphine experience.

"Nothing," Alex said, deciding that he'd save that information for when he could really use it. "It's been a pretty horrible night. I get my kicks where I can."

"Yeah I bet all that surgery is just terrible," Cristina said with a roll of the eyes. Alex looked at her seriously. "What?" Cristina asked, wondering if she wasn't the most seriously injured in their little group.

'"It's Derek," Alex said. "He was on his way here when it happened. He's got pretty bad burns and damaged airways. He's on a ventilator." Cristina's jaw dropped in shock. It was one thing when the injured were faceless strangers, mere medical experiments to help advance her career. It was very different when she knew their identity.

"Wha… is he… how's Meredith?" she stammered.

"We're keeping an eye on her," Alex said. "The Chief's wife died in surgery too," he added sadly, sighing and placing the pile of paperwork that he had been carrying on Cristina's stomach. "I gotta get back," he said. "Have fun with this." Cristina lay there dumbfounded by the information that she had just heard. She turned her attention to the pile of surgical paperwork that her friends had lumped on her and decided that it was a better option than staring at her foot for the rest of the night.

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"Excuse me, Doctor Sloan," Izzie said as she went into the scrub room where Mark was preparing for yet another burns surgery.

"Yes, Doctor Stevens," Mark replied.

"I have an idea for the burns surgeries," Izzie said as she started scrubbing in.

"And what might that be?" Mark asked.

"Spray on skin," Izzie said. Mark raised his eyebrows. He was surprised that she had even heard of the procedure. Izzie took his silence as permission to keep talking. "It reduces the time that it takes to culture skin," she said. "We take the skin for the graft, grow it in the lab and then spray it on. It's quicker, less invasive and will probably mean much less scaring for the patient."

"You forgot one part," Mark said as they went into the OR.

"What's that?" Izzie asked.

"It's still largely unproven," Mark said. "Do they even use it outside Australia?"

"They've started to," Izzie replied. "But look at these burn victims. Some of them are kids, there's a woman my age about to be married, parents, teachers, doctors-" Mark's expression changed as he thought back to Derek. Izzie wasn't thinking specifically about him when she said it but he was a perfect candidate.

"Doctor Stevens, I've been following this procedure. I think it's a fantastic idea in theory. In fact, I wish I'd thought of it myself. But I have a reputation as one of the top plastic surgeons in the United States and I'm not about to jeopardize that on something that isn't proven.

"Then let's prove it," Izzie said, hopefully. Mark looked at her, both amazed and frustrated at her stubbornness. "Come on, it's only unproven because not enough studies have been done on it. This is the perfect opportunity. It's non invasive and I know that I can find a group of candidates to try it. I'll do all the groundwork. You'll get all the credit." Mark thought about it for a moment.

"What's in it for you?" he asked.

"Getting to see somebody walk out of here with a better quality of life," Izzie answered honestly. "Just think what will happen if we pull this off."

"You're on," Mark said, secretly wishing that the experiment was his own idea.

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Lexie rushed back into the ER after taking a break for a few minutes. She was holding a mug of freshly brewed coffee. Lexie spotted Meredith at the nurses' station on the phone arguing with somebody in the radiology department and went over to her.

"Idiot," Meredith said angrily after she hung up the phone. She noticed Lexie standing there. "Not you," she said.

"I know," Lexie said, handing Meredith the coffee. Meredith looked surprised.

"Just trying to make you feel better," Lexie said shyly as Meredith took the coffee. Lexie had noticed Meredith's swollen eyes after her break down earlier and wanted to do something for her.

"Thank you," Meredith said appreciatively. Lexie gave Meredith a little smile.

"I should get back to work," she said.


	10. Chapter 10

**CHAPTER TEN **

Callie entered the surgeon's lounge, her scrub shirt once again covered in blood. Cristina looked up at her.

"Just rub it in why don't you?" Cristina said, clearly pissed off at the evidence of an interesting trauma case as she filled out paperwork. "I can't believe this," she said to herself. "I'd give anything to be out there."

"Maybe it's for the best that you stay put," Callie said with a cheeky smile as she changed into a fresh scrub shirt.

"What?" Cristina asked, insulted.

"You don't remember anything, do you?" Callie asked, trying to suppress her laughter.

"I'm really not in the mood for guessing games," Cristina snapped. "I don't remember a thing after I was given an injection." Callie looked as though she was about to burst out laughing. "What?" Cristina asked.

"You… uh… you… are quite the flirt when you're high," Callie said.

"Huh?" Cristina asked, confused.

"You were throwing out some not too subtle come ons to just about everybody who came in here."

"Oh yeah, whatever," Cristina replied, not amused by what she perceived as Callie's attempt at a lame joke.

"No, I'm dead serious, Cristina. George, Mark, nurse Tyler, a few orderlies, a patient's father who got lost, I won't even repeat what you asked me to do to you… oh yeah, and Erica Hahn." Cristina had a very brief flashback to what she had said to Erica; _'why hello there Cardio goddess!'_

"NO!" Cristina said in disbelief, starting to remember. She looked absolutely horrified. Callie couldn't suppress her laughter any longer. "No… but… I was drugged… I… I… I…" Cristina stammered.

"I think you should just stay here for as long as possible," Callie said, tying her hair back. "Keep that ankle iced. I'll be back to X ray it and set it in plaster soon." Cristina barely heard what Callie said. She sunk back into the couch wishing that it would swallow her whole.

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After her surgery with Mark, Izzie walked though the halls of the hospital, observing the sad state of the patients. She was surprised at how quickly she had adapted to the smell of burnt flesh and how in the OR she had been able to block out the enormity of the earthquake and focus on helping the patients in front of her. Now that Mark had approved of her idea, it had given Izzie extra energy. She didn't feel the least bit tired. Izzie's exuberance over her idea turned to sadness, however, as she saw George walk Richard to the front doors of the hospital. After seeing Adele for the last time, Richard was heading home. Izzie couldn't help but notice how distraught Richard looked. Even the way he walked reflected how devastated he was. Izzie and George locked eyes for a moment and smiled sadly at each other.

Izzie went to the ER where Meredith was still at the nurses' station. She had been booking OR's and organizing tests for patients amidst the chaos. It was an administrative job that Bailey would usually be doing but with Bailey acting as Chief, Meredith had risen to the occasion to make sure that the hospital didn't descend into total chaos.

Meredith hung up the phone after booking a surgery and noticed Izzie standing there in front of her.

"Oh God, what?" Meredith asked, fearing the worst. Thoughts of Derek had been playing on her mind all night, no matter how much she had tried to distract herself.

"Oh no, Derek's fine," Izzie said, realizing how it must have seemed. "He's the same as he was. There's been no change. I just need to talk to you about something."

"Okay," Meredith said, typing something on the computer.

"We probably shouldn't talk here," Izzie said.

"Well I'm kinda busy, Iz," Meredith replied.

"It's about Derek's treatment," Izzie said quietly to ensure that no gossipy nurses overheard.

"I can take over here for you," Lexie offered, appearing to spring up from no where. Meredith knew that Lexie had been hovering around her all night. She would never admit that she found it strangely comforting.

"Okay," Meredith said, following Izzie as Lexie took her seat.

"Are you sure nothing's wrong?" Meredith asked Izzie as she led her to a vacant consult room. "Or did you just say that he was stable so that I wouldn't make a scene out there?"

"Mer, his condition hasn't changed. I just checked on him, okay?" Izzie said, trying to reassure Meredith.

"Okay," Meredith sad, relieved. She was clearly feeling the stress of the night's events.

"Did you know that you're Derek's next of kin?" Izzie asked, as they sat down side by side on a couch.

"I am?" Meredith asked. She hadn't known that. "I suppose it makes sense," she added.

"Well, there's a new procedure that Doctor Sloan and I want to try to aid in Derek's recovery and try to prevent painful scaring."

"What procedure?" Meredith asked, trying to remember back to her textbooks.

"Spray on skin," Izzie said. Meredith racked her memory.

"They used that after terrorist attacks in Bali?" she asked.

"That's right," Izzie replied. "With some very promising results. I suggested it to Doctor Sloan and he agreed that we should try it here. Once Derek's breathing on his own, he'll be a perfect candidate for the surgery."

"And you need my permission?" Meredith asked. Izzie nodded. "But if he's breathing on his own wont he just be able to tell you what he wants?"

"No, he'll be on some heavy painkillers," Izzie explained. "Any consent that he gives won't be lawful. It has to come from you." Meredith sighed and put her head in her hands. Izzie rubbed Meredith's back comfortingly wishing that there was something more that she could do for her.

"You don't have to decide right now," Izzie explained gently. "You can have some time to look into the procedure and make up your mind about it. We just think it's a better option than standard skin grafts."

"But what if it doesn't work?" Meredith asked. "He would have been put through unnecessary surgical trauma on top of his injuries for nothing. And then there'll be further delay in getting skin grafts. He could end up suffering more."

"I know," Izzie said sadly. "And I wish I could tell you what the outcome would be but I can't. Not even Doctor Sloan can. But I don't want us to start using this procedure on patients without giving Derek the option of having it."

"I understand," Meredith said sadly, staring at the floor. "I'll look into it."

"I'm here if you need anything," Izzie offered. She felt genuinely sorry for Meredith being faced with such a decision on top of everything else.

"I better get back to work," Meredith said, leaving Izzie sitting in the consult room.

Meredith went back to where Lexie had taken over at the nurses' station.

"Is everything okay?" Lexie asked.

"I can't talk about this right now, Lex," Meredith said. She tried to focus on the job in front of her but she could feel her heart pounding heavily in her chest. "Actually, Lexie can you please just stay here for a few more minutes?" Meredith asked. "I won't be long."

"Sure," Lexie replied, wanting to help in any way possible.

Meredith rushed up to ICU and went straight to Derek's room. Izzie was right, his condition hadn't changed. Meredith sat down beside Derek and examined the burns across his chest, arm and leg. They were deep and painful looking. Meredith took Derek's hand on his unburnt arm and rested her head against it. The warmth of Derek's skin against hers made her breathing slow back to its normal rate.

"Tell me what to do," Meredith whispered softly to Derek as she closed her eyes and savoured his touch.


	11. Chapter 11

I did want to update this sooner but uni took over. Thank you to the people who have reviewed. I really appreciate it. Please continue to review. I love to hear what you think.

**CHAPTER ELEVEN**

"Um… I'm sorry, what was her name?" Lexie asked into the phone at the ER nurses' station, clearly flustered by the scale of what had been happening. "I'm sorry I can't find anything on her… no that doesn't mean that she's dead, it just mens tha- hello? Hello? Oh thank God," she said when she saw Meredith return. "I tried," Lexie said, clearly overwhelmed.

"Its fine, thank you," Meredith said, resuming her organizational position.

"What do you want me to do?" Lexie asked, nervously.

"Go and help people," Meredith replied. "Suture, run labs, try and keep up with the paperwork."

"But are you-"

"I'm fine," Meredith said, picking up a ringing phone. "Now go." Lexie nodded and did as she was told. She knew that Meredith wasn't fine and hoped that nothing bad had happened to Derek.

"How's it all going in there?" Bailey asked Erica as she rearranged the surgical board.

"I just lost another patient," Erica replied despondently. "I've never seen mass injuries of this scale before. It's like a war zone." Erica wiped her deceased patient's name from the white board. "How's Shepherd?" she asked Bailey.

"He was stable last time I saw him," Bailey said. "Still serious though."

"Doctor Hahn, there's a penetrating chest injury in the ER," George shouted, running down the hall.

"Good luck," Bailey said as Erica rushed off. Bailey stood back and admired her organizational skills which had been put to use scheduling surgeries and follow up treatment plans for the surgical cases at the hospital. Bailey sighed and made her way back to the ICU ward. She did this every hour and dreaded it. Each hour she would count how many patients had died before going back to the board to reschedule the surgeries. Bailey counted two patients before she reached Derek's room.

"You hanging in there alright?" she asked him, knowing that there would be no response. She picked up his patient chart and took note of the nurses' observations. "You're not allowed to die on me, okay?" Bailey said to Derek. "I won't allow it. Do I make myself clear? You do not have permission to die. That is not an option. I know you're hurt bad but you need to fight because there is a woman down there who loves you, there are patients who need you and if I come back up here and find out that you've given up, I'm gonna kick your ass." Bailey put Derek's chart back down and cleared her throat. "Just so we're clear on that," she said before leaving.

"What do we have?" Erica asked as she went into the cubicle where George had prepped a patient. She tried to stop her jaw from dropping when she opened the curtain and found an eight year old boy lying on the bed with a ten inch piece of glass protruding from the side of his chest.

"I was too scared to take it out," his mother stammered, in shock. "So I brought him here."

"You did the right thing," Erica said, swiftly taking her stethoscope and listening to the boy's heartbeat. "I don't mean to alarm you," Erica said in the calmest voice she could muster, "but this piece of glass is embedded in your son's heart. He needs to go to surgery right now so that we can take it out. George, make it happen."

"Right away, Doctor Hahn," George said, rushing off to clear an OR.

"Did I do something wrong?' the boy's fearful mother asked.

"Not at all," Erica replied. "If anything, you saved his life." She gave the boy's mother a reassuring smile, hoping desperately that there would be someone who she could give good news to that night.

"What are you doing?" Alex asked Izzie as he spotted her in a lab.

"Growing skin for Doctor Sloan's clinical trial," Izzie answered with a satisfied smile.

"Yeah right," Alex scoffed as he looked through the microscope that Izzie was using. "Seriously, what are you doing? Sloan's got me changing dressings."

"I'm serious," Izzie replied. "I'm in the process of cultivating skin cells to grow actual skin for the burns patients."

"Spray on skin?" Alex asked, surprised. "I've read about that. Sloan's risking it?"

"Yep," Izzie replied. "Because there's some optimists amongst us who believe that we can do more to help the burns patients than simply cut off some good skin and stick it over the bad skin. This way, there wont be any skin grafts, there'll be a quicker recovery time and less scaring. If we pull it off we give our patients a better future and change the course of treatment for burns victims in the US."

"And if you screw it up you cause unnecessary amounts of pain and suffering for your patients and risk ending your career before it's begun," Alex said, walking away.

"You're just jealous!" Izzie called out after him. She went back to what she was doing but couldn't shake the image of her potential failure from her mind.

"Meredith?" Lexie asked nervously as she spotted Meredith pacing back and forth in a consult room. Thankfully, things in the ER had begun to settle and the nurses and arriving doctors had been able to relieve Meredith of her organizational post. Meredith hadn't noticed Lexie watching her. She was too caught up in her own thoughts and the decision that she had to make.

"Meredith?" Lexie asked again.

"What?" Meredith replied irritably.

"Is there something I can get for you? You're pacing."

"No," Meredith replied. "I just need to talk to-"

"You paged me?" Mark asked, arriving right on time. Meredith nodded.

"How long do I have to make the decision?" she asked him.

"Well if you choose not to go with the new treatment option, I was planning on doing the first skin graft at four pm this afternoon." He looked at his watch. "It's six am now, so if you want traditional skin rafts I'll go ahead with the surgery. If you want to try the spray on skin than there will be no surgery and we'll attempt the procedure in a few days. To get the best results from the skin grafts we'd have to start today."

"So let me get this straight," Meredith said, continuing to pace nervously around the room. "If I choose spray on skin we have to wait until you grow the skin, and it could work fine and be a big success or it could fail and he would be worse off because he's had to wait so long for treatment." Mark nodded sadly. It was an impossible decision to make.

"What would you choose?" Meredith asked Mark. "If you were his next of kin what would you do?"

"I can't answer that," Mark replied, feeling so sorry for Meredith. "I'm his surgeon and I can't influence your decision. I believe that this procedure has the potential to be extraordinary but I can't promise you any results. It's a decision that only you can make." Meredith signed as she paced the room faster.

"We should try it," she said to Mark.

"Are you sure?" Mark asked her.

"Yes," Meredith replied. "Wait… no… yes… I mean… I don't know."

"You need more time to think about it," Mark said. "I'll come and see you later."

"I'll find every case study on the procedure," Lexie offered. Meredith had forgotten that she had been standing there. "Then you can read them and make a more informed decision," Meredith nodded as Lexie went off to research the case studies.

"I have to get back to the OR," Mark said to Meredith. "Are you going to be okay?"

"I don't know," Meredith confessed as she continued to pace the room. All she knew in that moment was that she was only as okay as Derek was.


	12. Chapter 12

Thank you to those who have been reviewing. Please continue to keep reviewing so I know what you think.

**CHAPTER TWELVE**

After treating another shoulder dislocation, Callie went back to the surgeon's lounge yawning. She checked her watch. It was just after six am and she was feeling the effects of working non stop for over twenty-four hours. Fatigue was setting in.

"Ready for your x ray?" Callie asked Cristina, yawning as she found Cristina where she'd left her, lying on the couch incapacitated.

"I can't go out there," Cristina replied, still as embarrassed as ever over her morphine induced behaviour.

"Relax," Callie replied. "I got probably the only person in the hospital that you didn't hit on to take you."

"Thank God," Cristina said appreciatively.

"Ready to go?" Alex asked Cristina with a mischievous smile, as he entered the surgeon's lounge. He handed Callie a coffee.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me," Cristina said to Callie.

"Got a better idea?" Callie asked as she sipped her coffee. "I'm giving my feet a rest for five minutes. Karev is more than capable." Callie pulled the ice away from Cristina's ankle. "Geez, that looks sore," she said. "Do you want something for the pain?"

"No!" Cristina snapped, defiantly.

"It doesn't have to be morphine," Callie offered.

"I'm not taking anything," Cristina said, determined not to let her guard down again.

"You're gonna suffer," Callie warned, finally getting to sit down. "Oh God yes," she said happily as her feet finally got a break. Her rest was short lived, however. After a moment, her pager went off. "Oh come on!" Callie groaned, standing back up again and yawning. "Page me if you need me," she muttered to Alex as she left.

Alex helped Cristina into a wheelchair.

"I can do it!" Cristina protested. "Get your hands off me!"

"Your ankle is the size of a football," Alex argued. "I could let go of you right now but you'd fall down. Anyway, I'm not trying to feel you up. That's more your style."

"Shut up," Cristina snapped bitterly as she got into the wheelchair. Alex snickered to himself.

Alex wheeled Cristina through the hallways where she couldn't help but notice the looks and giggles from everybody they passed. Word had got around.

"Take me back," Cristina said to Alex.

"I'm just following doctor's orders," Alex replied. "Relax. It'll blow over soon. We've all seen some pretty horrific things in the past few hours. This takes the edge off."

"Glad I could help," Cristina said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

As they continued down the corridor, Alex and Cristina passed Erica, George and some orderlies who were carefully wheeling a bed where a young boy had a massive piece of glass protruding from his chest.

"Whoa," Alex said.

"Rub it in," Cristina said bitterly, annoyed that she couldn't scrub in on such a rare surgery.

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Callie went to the conference room where she was paged and found the room full of exhausted surgeons.

"I won't keep you long," Bailey said from the front of the room. "I know you're all tired and you have every right to be. I just wanted to congratulate you on a job well done. Last night the hospital found itself under an enormous amount of pressure and I'm proud to say that the surgical team rose to the occasion. In stressful conditions it is easy to lose your heads and make mistakes but I'm happy to report that didn't happen. Now I want to give a special mention to Meredith Grey, one of our junior surgical residents who singlehandly kept the emergency room from descending into chaos last night. Doctor Grey showed initiative under pressure. She prioritized and got your patients to you in the OR when nobody else thought to do so."

Meredith stood at the back of the room, leaning against the wall as all eyes focused on her. She didn't like being singled out but at the same time she was glad that her hard work hadn't gone unnoticed. Meredith didn't even hear the rest of Bailey's speech as she stood there. Her attention was focused one hundred percent on Derek.

"Do you want me to walk with you?" Izzie asked, snapping Meredith out of her thoughts. Meredith looked around and saw that the room was empty. Everybody had left.

"Huh?" Meredith asked, confused.

"Bailey said you're not working again until this afternoon. I'm going up to check on Derek. Are you coming?"

"Yeah, sure," Meredith replied. She followed Izzie out of the consult room and up to the surgeon's lounge. "I'm just gonna change out of my scrubs," Meredith said to Izzie. "I'll see you up there."

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"Chief?" Bailey asked, surprised as she went into his office, which had become her control center for the running of the hospital in it's time of crisis. "What are you doing here?" Richard Webber was sitting at his desk with a vacant expression on his face. He hadn't seemed to notice her until she spoke.

"I should be here," Richard said in an almost unrecognizable voice. A voice that was hollow and wracked with grief.

"No, you should be at home," Bailey argued. Richard shook his head.

"Everywhere I go, I think of her," he said sadly.

"That's not such a bad thing," Bailey said.

"It's overwhelming," Richard replied quietly. "I put her second our whole marriage, I drove her away and I can't ever make that right. I need to be here because if I think about that too much it'll destroy me." Bailey didn't know how to respond to that.

"Okay then," she said sadly, resigning herself to the fact that Richard wasn't going to change his mind. "Just… don't treat anybody. I'm here if you wanna talk." Richard didn't even seem to hear Bailey speak. He just stared sadly into space.

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Meredith took the elevators up to the ICU ward. Usually as a surgical resident she would be exploring every passing injury, mentally going over the surgery that they would need, but not today. Instead Meredith looked the other way. There was too much pain today and she couldn't stand it. Their patients were suffering horrific injuries, their relatives were worried sick. The hospital was still struggling to hold all of those injured in the earthquake and the staff were struggling to hold up from the emotional toll that it was having on them. Meredith smelt burnt flesh as the elevator stopped on a surgical floor and a Mark Sloan wheeled a burns patient in on a bed. He gave Meredith a sympathetic smile as he saw her. Meredith looked down and saw a little girl lying on the bed whimpering. She had more burnt skin than unburnt skin. Mark was holding the little girl's hand in his and Meredith noticed a tear in his eye. The little girl wasn't going to survive and Mark knew that. Meredith took a deep breath and tried to stop herself from crying. Meredith blinked away tears as the doors opened to the ICU ward. She gave Mark a supportive smile and headed to Derek's room.

"Meredith," Izzie said with a little laugh as Meredith entered the room. "Your buttons are all done up wrong."

"What?" Meredith asked confused. She looked down and noticed that her shirt was complexly crooked. She laughed a little to herself and fixed it and went over to Derek.

"Hi, baby," she whispered softly to him, kissing him tenderly on the side of his face and running her fingers through his hair. His condition was the same. No better and no worse. She wanted so badly for him to wake up.

"Lexie has something for you," Izzie said, interrupting the moment. Meredith pulled a chair over beside Derek's bed and sat down. She looked up to see Lexie standing in front of a blank wall. She had moved the equipment and taken the signs and posters down.

"I prepared a little PowerPoint presentation about the spray on skin results," she said nervously. "I feel like I'm in the tenth grade again, but I thought this way it would be concise and you could make up your mind about how to treat Derek." Meredith nodded and gave her nervous sister a smile. Lexie was nervous and as she picked up her pre prepared palm cards her hands shook. She wanted to make the decision easier for Meredith and this seemed like the right way to do it, even though she felt like a major geek again. Lexie took a deep breath and began….


	13. Chapter 13

So I got around to writing the next chapter. I'm glad that people are still enjoying this fic. I'm certainly enjoying writing it. Please review and let me know what you think.

**CHAPTER THIRTEEN**

"And that, essentially, is how the procedure commonly known as 'spray on skin' works," Lexie said nervously as the power point presentation ended. Mark, Meredith and Izzie clapped. It seemed like the right thing to do.

"Not bad, Grey," Mark said, impressed with the way that Lexie had condensed the information into a straightforward presentation for Meredith's benefit.

"Thank you," Lexie said with a nervous smile. She felt as though she was back at college, or even grade school. She placed her palm cards on the desk next to Derek's bed and looked over at Meredith who had a very serious expression on her face. "What's wrong?" Lexie asked apprehensively. Meredith stopped staring into space and looked over at her sister.

"Nothing," she replied, giving Lexie a little smile. "Thank you, Lex. I really appreciate what you did."

"But?" Lexie asked, sensing it coming.

"The procedure hasn't worked on everybody," Meredith said sadly. "I know it looks promising, and if it works it will be amazing… but if it doesn't…" her voice trailed off.

"I know," Lexie said sadly, looking at Derek. "I wish that there was a textbook that could tell us what to decide." Meredith looked over at Mark.

"I'm leaning towards it," Meredith said to him. "Cant you give me something to go on?"

"If I was to go with the usual skin grafts I'd be doing the surgery in a couple of hours," Mark said. "To be honest, I'd be reluctant to put any patient with damaged airways through a surgery so soon if there was an alternative. In twenty-four hours, Derek's respitory system should be stronger and he'll probably be off the ventilator. I'd be much more confident that he'd make it through the new surgery. As you know, I can't promise you results but I can promise that I'll do everything in my power to make this work."

"I know you will," Meredith said. "Let's try it." Meredith tried to sound brave. Deep down she was terrified.

"You're sure?" Izzie asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure," Meredith replied.

"Doctor Stevens, can you please organize the consent forms?" Mark asked Izzie.

"Sure," Izzie said with a smile. She left the room, happy that Meredith had made what she believed to be the right decision.

"I have to check on some other patients," Mark said, reluctant to leave Derek.

"It's okay," Meredith replied. "I'm gonna sit with him." Mark nodded.

"Are you going to be alright?" he asked her. Meredith couldn't help noticing the compassionate look in his eyes. She nodded. "Page me if anything changes or if you need anything at all."

"Thank you," Meredith replied. She was glad that Derek was in such good hands. Mark smiled sadly at Derek and left the room. Meredith pulled up a chair next to Derek's bed. She took his hand in hers and held on to it. Even though he was right beside her, Meredith missed him. She missed him looking at her, smiling at her, talking to her.

Lexie watched her sister gaze sadly at Derek.

"I should probably go," she said uncomfortably. "I'm probably getting in the way." Meredith turned her attention to Lexie.

"Can you stay?" Meredith asked, almost pleadingly. Lexie could tell that she was struggling not to cry. "I just don't feel very strong right now."

"Sure," Lexie replied. "Anything you want."

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"Are you ready, O'Malley?" Erica asked in the OR as they worked on their patient, a young boy with a large piece of glass piercing his heart.

"I am," George replied. Erica noticed his hand trembling nervously.

"Are you sure?" Erica asked. 'Because last night I lost every single patient I operated on. I can't handle it happening again. Now are you sure you're ready?"

"Yes, Doctor Hahn," George replied in a strong voice, willing his hand to stay still.

"Good," Erica said. "Let's go." Erica had repaired the damage to the surrounding tissue and now they were at the most crucial part of the surgery. Erica had to gently pull the glass out of the boy's heart while George contained the bleeding. George placed his hands inside the boy's chest, ready to work. Erica delicately started moving the glass.

"So far so good," she said to herself. When the glass was almost out a steady flow of crimson blood began pouring out. "Shit!" Erica said. "O'Malley, I need suction," she ordered. George did as he was told and tried desperately to contain the bleeding. Erica pulled the glass out and began manually repairing the damage. "I can't see through the blood," she said, frustrated.

"It won't suck any faster," George replied.

"I'm working blind here," Erica said, trying desperately to see through the blood. Thankfully her years of experience paid off and she was able to repair the damage and suture faster than the blood poured out.

"Nice work, Doctor Hahn," George said, visibly impressed. Erica didn't respond. She just stared straight ahead. "Doctor Hahn?" George said again as he saw her blink away tears. "Are you okay?"

"In the past twelve hours I've told nine families that they'll never see their relatives alive again," Erica replied. "I saw some of the worst chest injuries imaginable and there wasn't a thing that could be done to save the patients. Now I finally have some good news. I just need a minute."

"Okay…" George replied, surprised to see any hint of emotion come from Erica.

"I do have a soul if that's what you're wondering, O'Malley," Erica said, her emotional moment gone.

"I didn't say-" George started, embarrassed. "I can speak to the family if you want."

"You're not taking that away from me," Erica replied. "You can, however, finish the procedure and close under my supervision."

"Seriously?" George asked. Erica nodded. George smiled to himself and relished the rare opportunity that he had been given.

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A few hours later, Cristina, on crutches, hobbled up to the ICU ward. Avoiding eye contact with everyone that she had hit on the previous night, she headed towards Derek's room. Cristina had studied burns injuries and had even seen a few at the hospital but nothing compared to the shock she felt when she saw Derek Shepherd lying helplessly sedated, a victim of such an injury.

"Hey," Meredith said from Derek's bedside, glad to see Cristina. "Feeling less horny now?" Cristina glared at her. "Sorry, couldn't help myself," Meredith giggled. She looked at the cast on Cristina's foot. "How are you feeling?"

"Huh?" Cristina asked, still shocked by Derek's burns. "Oh," she stammered. "It's nothing. It's just… broken. It'll be fine. How are you?"

"I'm fine," Meredith replied, knowing that Cristina had an implicit understanding of what 'fine' meant.

"Have you been up here alone all this time?" Cristina asked, using her crutches to make her way to the chair that Lexie had been sitting in all morning. Meredith shook her head.

"Lexie's here," she said. "She's gone to get us lunch."

"I can't believe… Derek of all people…" Cristina said, her voice trailing off.

"I know," Meredith replied sadly. "He's usually the one saving everyone else." She stopped and tried to steady her voice.

"Don't people usually hug in times like these?" Cristina asked. Meredith knew that she wasn't being sarcastic. She simply didn't know. "Because if you want a hug I'll do it." Meredith couldn't help but laugh at Cristina's social ineptitude.

"No, I want you to stay seated and rest your foot," she replied. "Have you taken something for the pain?"

"No more drugs," Cristina replied defiantly.

"I've got some mild painkillers in my bag if you want-"

"Just keep them to yourself," Cristina snapped more harshly than she meant to. Meredith laughed again. Mark Sloan entered the room.

"Now that's what I like to hear," he said, glad to hear Meredith laughing. "Hello, lover," he said to Cristina who blushed with sheer embarrassment. Mark looked at Derek's patient chart and was relieved to see that he was steadily improving.

"I want to take Derek off the ventilator and being him out of sedation," Mark said. "The cells we're growing show signs of being ready tomorrow and if his respitory system can handle it, I'd like to operate then. There's no reason why he can't breathe on his own now that the swelling has gown down. It'll be painful but we'll take care of that."

"Are you sure he's ready?" Meredith said with uncertainty.

"I promise I won't let anything happen to him," Mark said, looking Meredith straight in the eyes. He changed Derek's IV. "I'll stay right here and monitor everything. If anything goes wrong at all, I'll take care of it. "Now I've already got the painkillers going in so you don't have to worry about him hurting. Meredith nodded, hoping that Mark was right.

Forty minutes later, Derek finally started to stir.

"I'm here, Derek," Meredith said, squeezing his hand. She leaned forward and waited for Derek's eyes to open. When they did he said the last thing she ever expected.

"Who are you?"


	14. Chapter 14

Sorry to leave you hanging like that. That was mean. I did mean to update straight away but exams ruined any chance of that. I am free for a few weeks now though so I promise I won't do that to you again. I hope that you are all well and enjoy this update. Please review.

**CHAPTER FOURTEEN**

"Who are you?" Derek asked with a look of genuine confusion on his face.

Meredith took a step backwards. This was the last thing that she had expected. It was the most traumatic thing that he could have said to her. Mark shone a light into Derek's eyes and did a quick neurological examination.

"Are you in any pain?" he asked Derek, keeping his doctor face on.

"No," Derek said weakly before his eyes closed again.

"You paged me?" Izzie asked, rushing into Derek's room.

"Ten minutes ago," Mark said with a hint of annoyance. "We've already woken him up."

"Sorry," Izzie apologized. "What's going on?" she asked, noticing the shocked expression on Meredith and Cristina's faces. Izzie went over to Derek. She didn't notice Meredith leave the room.

"Morphine?" she asked Mark. Mark nodded.

"The pain's under control," Mark said. "He's out for now. I need you to stay with him and monitor his vitals. Do not take your eyes off him." Mark turned around to speak to Meredith but she was gone.

"Shit!" Mark said to himself. "Page me if anything changes," he said to Izzie as he rushed out of the room.

"What's going on?" Izzie asked a shell-shocked Cristina.

"He didn't recognise her," Cristina managed to reply. Izzie's eyes widened.

"It's been known to happen. You know it's not permanent," she said, as she checked Derek's blood pressure.

Mark jogged through the long hall of the ICU ward, searching for Meredith. He saw her step into the elevator at the end of the hall.

"Meredith!" he shouted, running to the elevator and stopping it with his hand just before it closed. When he was inside, Mark stopped the elevator altogether. "I'm really sorry that you had to see that," he said apologetically.

"What's going on?" Meredith asked, her voice quivering. She looked up at Mark, her eyes indicative of the pain that she was feeling.

"It's not permanent," Mark said. He knew that Meredith was a competent doctor but in that moment he wasn't talking to a fellow doctor. He was talking to a worried girlfriend. Meredith looked confused.

"Derek's been in an induced coma. He sustained serious injuries in the earthquake, he's been though invasive surgery and sedated with a cocktail of drugs. As he was being brought out of the coma, I was putting morphine through his IV to control the pain and make the transition into consciousness less traumatic on his body. The period of sedation combined with that amount of drugs can lead to confusion when the patient wakes up. As soon as he opened his eyes he probably couldn't even see straight, let alone recognize anybody. That's why he reacted the way he did. He probably won't even remember waking up like that." A tear ran down Meredith's face and she wiped it away.

"Why didn't you warn me?" she asked.

"I'm sorry," Mark said honestly. "I was so focused on getting him back to consciousness. I have seen it happen before. I should have prepared you. Are you gonna come back?" Meredith looked unsure for a moment. "It might not look like it, but he's doing well," Mark said. "The morphine's knocked him out for a while but now he's breathing on his own without the ventilator. He's getting stronger. All signs are good."

"The morphine's that strong?" Meredith asked, blinking back tears.

"Look at what it did to Yang," Mark joked. Meredith managed to laugh a little. "So can you come back? I'm sure that when he wakes up properly yours will be the first face that he wants to see." Meredith took a deep breath. She certainly had been given a fright.

"Okay," she said.

"Good," Mark replied with a smile. He took Meredith's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. Then he pushed the button to make the elevator doors open and they headed back to Derek's room.

"Hey," Izzie said with a gentle smile as Meredith and Mark re entered Derek's room. "The painkillers have made him sleepy but his vitals are stronger than expected. I'd say he'll be awake soon.'

"That's great," Mark said. He pulled up a seat. "You can go back to the other patients, Doctor Stevens." Izzie nodded and left the room leaving Mark, Meredith and Cristina.

"Don't you have other patients?" Cristina asked Mark.

"That's what Residents are for," Mark chuckled. "This is where I need to be."

"I got us sandwiches," Lexie said as she arrived back at Derek's room. "Oh, sorry, I thought there were only two of us," she said spotting Cristina and Mark.

"I'm thinking of going to the gallery anyway," Cristina said. "Unless you want me to stay?" she asked Meredith. Meredith shook her head.

"Lexie's back now, it's fine," Meredith replied, knowing that Cristina just wanted to get away from Mark's jokes.

"Thank you," Cristina mouthed to Meredith as she hobbled away on her crutches.

Lexie handed a sandwich to Meredith and they ate together in silence, watching Derek the whole time.

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Callie stood at the nurses' station on the surgical ward holding a driver's license that belonged to a patient that had died on her table the night before.

"What's the matter with you?" Erica asked, biting into an apple as she joined Callie at the nurses' station.

"Nothing," Callie sighed. Erica looked at her skeptically. "It's nothing, really," she said. "Why are you so chirpy?"

"I just saved a patient," Erica said with a smile. "A little boy who had a piece of glass sticking out of his heart. He's gonna be fine thanks to yours truly."

"That's great," Callie replied, managing a smile. "I know it's been a hard night for you."

"Not just me," Erica said. "All of us. Have you got any sleep yet?" Callie shook her head.

"I was supposed to finish earlier but there was an emergency surgery."

"Isn't there always?" Erica asked. "You should get some sleep and start delegating before you make a mistake." Callie nodded.

"I'm gonna go rest in the on call room," she said despondently. She picked up a laptop from the nurses' station and walked away, leaving Erica wondering what exactly had put her in her mood.

When Callie reached an empty on call room she searched a nationwide phone directory on the internet for the name 'Schell.' It was the last name of the woman who had died in her surgery. The young woman had no next of kin listed and no body had come to claim her. She had not been listed as missing. The search returned twenty-two names and Callie dialed every one of them, asking if they knew a 'Tamara Schell.' No body seemed to have heard of the woman. Callie closed the laptop and felt tears stinging the back of her eyes. She was completely exhausted physically and emotionally, sleep deprived and a patient had just realized her worst fear; dying alone with no body to claim her. No relatives, no friends, no lover. Callie broke into quiet sobs as she laid down on one of the beds. Suddenly she heard the door open.

"Oh hey," George said, flopping down on the bed opposite Callie in the on call room. "I'm just gonna grab a few hours sleep." Callie didn't respond so George looked over and saw her shoulders shaking. "Are you okay?" he asked her in a concerned voice.

"Can you please sleep somewhere else?" Callie asked, upset.

"Is there something that I can-" George started.

"I can't talk to _you_ about this," Callie replied.

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"Meredith, he moved!" Lexie exclaimed excitedly as she saw Derek start to stir awake. Mark snapped open his eyes. He had managed to get about twenty minutes sleep while they waited in silence.

"Derek," Mark said, going over to his bedside. Derek slowly opened his eyes. "Welcome back," Mark said with a relived smile. Meredith stood back apprehensively. "How are you feeling?"

"Like crap," Derek moaned, his airways still damaged from the smoke. "Where's Meredith?"

"I'm right here," Meredith said, breathing a sigh of relief. She went over to Derek, unable to stop the flood of tears.

"Why are you crying?" Derek asked.

"I missed you," Meredith said with a smile, kissing him on the lips.


	15. Chapter 15

Thank you to those of you who have been reviewing. I hope that you are enjoying this fic. Please review for me. I really like to hear your thoughts.

**CHAPTER FIFTEEN**

"I didn't recognize you?" Derek asked horrified.

"It's okay," Meredith replied, silently hoping that Mark wouldn't tell him just how much she had freaked out.

"No its not," Derek replied.

"It's perfectly understandable," Mark said as he examined the work that he had done on Derek's burns the previous night in surgery. "Morphine does weird things to people, right Yang... Yang?" Mark turned around, looking for Cristina.

"She left," Lexie said.

"Damn," Mark replied. "That's no fun then."

"Leave her alone, Mark, I'm serious," Meredith warned.

"Am I missing something?" Derek asked faintly.

"Don't worry, we'll fill you in," Mark answered. "There's plenty of time for that. Anyway, I should probably let you two lovebirds have some time alone."

"Actually," Meredith said as Mark went to leave. "I just have to do this… thing. Can you stay here?" Mark nodded as Meredith kissed Derek on the lips and hurriedly left the room. Lexie followed, leaving Mark wondering if there was some unspoken language being used at the hospital that he wasn't in on.

Meredith rounded the corner and leant back against the wall taking in deep breaths.

"Meredith? Are you okay?" Lexie asked as she caught up to her sister. Meredith nodded.

"I just need a minute," Meredith said. Lexie nodded, understanding. She had seen everything that Meredith had been through in the past twelve hours and was surprised that she was still standing. Now Derek was awake and lucid after what seemed like an eternity and the relief was overwhelming.

"Do you want me to get you anything?" Lexie offered. "A drink of water?" Meredith shook her head and brushed her hair out of her eyes with a trembling hand. Instinctively, Lexie took Meredith's shaking hand and held it in her own, hoping that it might calm her. Lexie assumed that Meredith would pull away but to her surprise she didn't. Instead Meredith looked up at her sister and have her an appreciative smile.

"Do you want to go for a walk and get some fresh air?" Lexie asked. Meredith nodded and allowed her sister to lead the way and feeling surprised that this was not at all uncomfortable.

"So there was an earthquake?" Derek asked Mark, still trying to get his head around the news, his voice weak and husky from the smoke inhalation. Mark nodded as he checked over Derek's injuries once again.

"Ow!" Derek claimed as Mark redressed his burns.

"Don't do this again," Mark muttered under his breath. Derek looked confused. Mark leaned in towards Derek. "Don't you ever do that to me again or I'll kick your ass!" he whispered angrily. "This will be nothing compared to what I'll do to you."

"What the hell?" Derek asked Mark.

"You could have died," Mark said with more emotion that Derek had ever heard come from him. "You scared the hell out of me, Derek. Don't even think about doing something like that again."

"It's not like I had a say in it," Derek moaned in pain, staring up at the ceiling.

"Yeah well, you're my brother. You're my family," Mark said as he adjusted Derek's IV line. "I froze up in surgery for the first time ever because the thought of losing you…" his voice trailed off. Mark was quiet for awhile and then cleared his throat. "My point is, don't do it again."

"Point taken," Derek said weakly as Mark resumed his doctor stance. Derek tried to sit up. "How bad are my injuries?" he asked.

"You have to stay still," Mark replied. "Trust me, you're in good hands. The best." Derek noticed Mark's eyes flit away uncomfortably for a brief moment.

"What is it?" Derek asked. He hardly ever saw Mark Sloan lack confidence. Mark took a deep breath.

"The car that you were in caught fire. You have burns to over thirty percent of your body," he said. "Your chest and torso are the areas of immedieate concern. We were worried about your lung function especially since your airways were also burned but we seem to be over the worst of it now. You have burns to your right arm and part of your right leg. I've repaired as much of the damage as I could to your chest in surgery last night. You had to be put on a ventilator to help you breathe for a while."

"My hands?" Derek asked. His hands were his livelihood.

"Your hands are fine," Mark reassured him.

"So what now? Skin grafts?" Derek asked, trying to take it all in and accept that those injuries belonged to him and not one of their other patients.

"Actually, no," Mark replied. Derek looked confused. He couldn't see his burnt arm under the dressings but he knew from the pain that it was bad. "Meredith is your power of attorney and while you were ventilated, Doctor Stevens and I decided that we were going to treat a number of patients in a new way. We grow the skin in the lab and then transplant it in surgery. This means waiting a few days until the skin is ready but its less invasive."

"Isn't that still untested?" Derek asked.

"This is one of the first clinical trials, but we're confident that this will work," Mark replied. "We informed Meredith of the risks and benefits. It was a hard decision but she chose this option. If she'd chosen the skin grafts we would be in surgery again right now. I think waiting is better." Derek nodded. He knew the risks of too many surgeries in such a short period of time and he trusted Mark as well as Meredith's judgment. "If you don't think Meredith made the right choice, don't take it out on her," Mark added. "She's been to hell and back."

"I'm not mad at Meredith," Derek said shortly. "I'm just in more pain than I've ever been in my life. Can I get some more morphine?" Mark sighed. He knew this would happen but it didn't make it any easier.

"Derek, I've given you all the morphine your body can take right now. You're still partially sedated. I can't give you anything else for another four hours."

"You've gotta be kidding me," Derek moaned in response.

"I wish I was," Mark said. He hated seeing Derek in so much pain. "I can get the nurses to bring you some cold compresses and-"

"I can't believe this," Derek interrupted. Twenty-four hours earlier he had been treating patients and now he was the patient. He closed his eyes and tried to take his mind off the pain. It was going to be a long wait.

"I heard the roads are all blocked off," Lexie said to Meredith as they walked around the hospital grounds, basking in the sun that had briefly come out from behind the clouds. "I don't know how we're going to get home."

"If the patients keep coming in at this rate I doubt we'll see home for a while," Meredith replied.

"Is this worse than the ferry boat accident?" Lexie asked. Meredith nodded, not wanting to re live that experience.

"Is that George and Izzie?" Meredith asked, pointing straight ahead to where two surgeons were slumped against a building fast asleep.

"Yeah," Lexie said as they headed over to them. "Aww I don't want to wake them, they look so peaceful."

"If you don't wake them, I will," Bailey said as she marched through the grounds with a clipboard. Lexie ran over to George and Izzie and woke them.

"Skin cells!" Izzie exclaimed as she got to her feet and ran back to the lab to check on the skin that she was growing.

"Hahn!" George shouted fearfully. He hadn't realized that researching a cardio procedure would lead to an afternoon nap."

"Have you taken a break at all?" Meredith asked Bailey, concerned. "Surely you can get somebody to cover for you." Bailey shook her head.

"The phone lines are down, the roads are closed and I have no idea if my husband and my son are safe," Bailey replied with just a hint of emotion in her voice. "I can't stop and think about all the things that might have happened to them so I have to keep working, Doctor Grey." Meredith watched on sadly as Bailey walked away and went back to rounding up exhausted surgeons.


	16. Chapter 16

I'm really glad that people are enjoying this story. Thank you so much to those who have reviewed. I really appreciate your feedback. I hope that you like this update. Please review.

**CHAPTER SIXTEEN**

Cristina hobbled into the elevator irritably, throwing glares at anybody who dared to smirk at her. Her ankle was throbbing dully in its heavy plaster cast and she was only too happy to take the pain out on hospital staff. When the elevator reached the ICU, Cristina moodily staggered out and towards Derek's room. When she reached his room, instead of going in unannounced, Cristina simply stood there, visibly shocked by the scene playing out in front of her. Derek was clearly in a lot of pain, clawing at the sheets with his hands. Meredith was dutifully applying cold compresses to his burns but it seemed to be having little or no positive effect.

"Cant he have more pain relief?" Cristina finally asked from the doorway.

"Oh hey," Meredith said as she looked up, relieved to see Cristina. She shook her head. "Not for another few hours. We're trying to control the pain in other ways."

"It's not working," Derek moaned irritably. Cristina felt genuinely sorry for both of them. She racked her mind for something that could help.

"Here," she said, pulling her Ipod out of her pocket. "This might help take his mind off the pain. There's some great music on here." Meredith gave Cristina an appreciative smile and Cristina could tell that she was hurting just as badly as Derek was.

"Thanks," Meredith said as Cristina handed her the Ipod.

"Oh and I was at the vending machine so I got you some chocolate," Cristina added, handing Meredith her favourite. Meredith smiled, touched by the small gesture.

"Doctor Yang sharing?" an ICU nurse who Cristina may or may not have hit on the night before asked as she entered the room with more cold compresses. "I never thought I'd see the day."

"Bite me," Cristina snapped back. She turned back to Meredith. "Since I can't do the surgeon thing… is there anything else you need?"

"I think we're okay for now," Meredith replied, putting on a brave face for her own benefit more than Cristina's. "You can keep the chocolate coming though." Cristina looked back at Derek sadly.

"Okay, I'll leave you to it," she said as she hobbled out of the room.

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"How do you treat pain without opiates?" Cristina asked Callie as she went back to the surgeon's lounge and sat down on one of the comfortable couches.

"Just take the damn painkillers, Cristina," Callie replied, moodily.

"It's not for me," Cristina snapped back, ignoring her throbbing ankle. "Derek's on a full dose of morphine and it's not even coming close to relieving his pain."

"There's not much he can do other than wait unfortunately," Callie said sadly. "Unless you look into alternative medicine."

"That Chinese crap?" Cristina asked skeptically. "Yeah right, like that really works."

"A lot of people swear by it. Millions of people can't be wrong," Callie said.

"They can be wrong because they're gullible idiots who wouldn't know real medicine if it was staring them in the face," Cristina snapped. Callie raised her eyebrows at Cristina's sour mood. "I'm in pain and I don't get to cut," Cristina argued. "I have a right to be pissed off."

"A holistic doctor did a seminar here about three years ago. He left a lot of equipment here. It's probably in one of the storage rooms."

"They use equipment?" Cristina asked. Callie shrugged.

"Or if you don't want to help Derek you could sit here and bitch."

"I'll look into it then," Cristina said with a tone of resignation, grabbing her crutches and starting to stand up. "What are you doing anyway?" she asked Callie, noticing that she was looking through a wallet that had the ID of a woman she didn't recognize." Callie sighed.

"This woman died in my surgery earlier," she said. "Her name is Tamara and she has no next of kin. No family, nothing. Her name has been broadcast with everyone else who's died and she's the only one that no one has come to claim or even inquire about. She has no one."

"Maybe she was a surgeon," Cristina said as she left the room.

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"Haven't you slept at all?" Izzie asked a yawning Alex as they passed each other in the hall.

"No time to sleep," Alex replied. "Back to back surgeries with Hahn. Like I'd turn that down."

"Nice," Izzie said as she kept going down the hall towards a supply closet, trying to stop her own exhaustion from catching up with her. When she opened the door, Izzie was surprised to find Cristina, surrounded by books on holistic medicine.

"Do you know how this crap works?" Cristina asked Izzie, holding up bag of tiny acupuncture needles.

"Yeah I do," Izzie replied. I did an assessment on this at college."

"Of course you did," Cristina replied as Izzie sat down next to her and took the needles from the bag.

"I'll ignore that comment because I know you're in pain," Izzie said. "You just have to know where the right pressure points are. The idea is to block out the pain. She reached towards Cristina's leg.

"They're not for me," Cristina said. "They're for Derek. Can you just tell me where I need to put the needles on him?"

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"Am I keeping you awake, Doctor Karev?" Erica asked Alex who was yawning under his surgical mask as she worked on their injured patient.

"Not at all, Doctor Hahn," Alex replied, making more of an effort to disguise his exhaustion. Erica looked around at the exhausted surgical nurses, residents and interns assisting her. She could see how burnt out they were and knew that if they didn't get a break soon a patient would suffer the consequences. Suddenly the door to the OR opened and Bailey, holding a surgical mask to her face, stepped in.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, Doctor Hahn," she said politely. "But there's an incoming trauma that the paramedics say is surgical. I'm going to have to take one of your residents." Erica nodded in acknowledgement as she scanned the tired faces of her residents. Alex appeared the most exhausted.

"Karev, you go," she said. "A bit of movement will do you good." Alex nodded and followed Bailey down to the ED.

"What've we got?" Alex asked as the paramedics wheeled their patient in.

"The patient's name is Tucker Jones," the paramedic answered. "He was trapped in the wreckage of his house and was only just discovered. His leg is crushed. Alex stopped where he was. He looked down the gurney and saw that they had the right Tucker Jones. It was Bailey's husband. Alex turned to see Bailey frozen where she was standing, unable to take a step forward.

"You better get her out of here," Alex said to a nurse. He needed to assess Tucker's injuries without any emotional interference. "And somebody page Doctor Torres." The nurse tried to lead Bailey away but she wouldn't move.

"Where's Tuck?" Bailey asked in a heartbroken tone, fearing the worst. As if on cue, Bailey heard a familiar cry as a paramedic brought her frightened son into the hospital in his arms.

"Is he hurt?" Bailey asked, her maternal instinct taking over. The paramedic shook his head.

"I assessed him at the scene. He's frightened and wants his mama but he's fine. Bailey scooped baby Tuck into her arms and soothed him as Alex and Callie rushed her estranged husband into surgery.

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"If you tell anyone about this I'm gonna have to kill you," Cristina warned as she hobbled back into Derek's room. Meredith looked at her confused. "Are we clear?" Meredith nodded as Cristina reached Derek's bed and pulled a set of tiny needles out of the bag that she was carrying. "These are acupuncture needles and when you place them on certain pressure points they're supposed to assist in pain relief. I figured this is better than nothing." Derek nodded, welcoming anything that would help. "Okay, just take deep breaths and try to stay still," Cristina said to Derek as she followed the instructions that Izzie had given her earlier, hoping that it would surprise her and work.


	17. Chapter 17

Thank you to the people who have been reviewing this fic. I'm glad that you're still enjoying it. I hope that you like this installment. Please review.

**CHAPTER SEVENTEEN**

Mark Sloan yawned as he walked through the crowded the halls of the ICU. He, like most of the surgeons at Seattle Grace Hospital, had been working non stop since the earthquake had hit. After yet another surgery on a burns patient, this time a seventy-two year old woman, Mark had gone to check on Derek. Before he went into Derek's room, Mark stopped for a moment and took a few deep breaths, bracing himself for what he was about to see. He hated seeing any patient in pain; any doctor hated feeling helpless, but Derek wasn't just any patient. He was Mark's family. When he was ready, Mark went into Derek's room and his jaw dropped in surprise. In front of him, Meredith and Cristina were standing nervously over Derek who appeared to be sleeping soundly.

"I thought I made myself clear on the morphine dose," Mark said irritably, wondering who had been treating Derek. He went over to Derek's bed and picked up his patient chart. Noticing that he had not had any more medication, Mark looked up to see Derek covered in tiny acupuncture needles.

"What the hell?" he asked, more confused than angry.

"It worked," Meredith said in amazement, not taking her eyes away from Derek.

"Who did this?" Mark asked.

"Izzie Stevens," Cristina lied quickly. The last thing she wanted was an attending thinking that she'd gone soft. "You know what she's like."

"They didn't seem to make a difference at first," Meredith said. "Then he seemed to relax and now he's asleep." Mark wouldn't have believed it if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes.

"Doctor Stevens has been impressing the hell out of me lately," Mark said, the admiration evident in his voice. "You two better watch your backs." Cristina scoffed at Mark's comment.

"Are you going to wake him?" Meredith asked, fearfully. She didn't think that she could stand seeing Derek in pain for much longer. Mark looked at the nurses' observations on Derek's patient chart and shook his head.

"No, he's stable," he said. "I'll give him his next dose of morphine in an hour. Too much will depress his respiratory system and that's not good if he's having surgery soon."

"So you think you can do the surgery tomorrow?" Meredith asked hopefully.

"I'm hoping so," Mark said. "All signs are good. I'll be back to check on him soon." He left Derek's room breathing a sigh of relief that Derek appeared to have the pain under control.

"What?" Cristina asked Meredith, noticing her restlessness.

"He has to have that surgery tomorrow," Meredith said anxiously.

"If he doesn't its no big deal. Those needle things have his pain under control somehow," Cristina said. Meredith shook her head sadly.

"I need to know if I've made the right decision or if I'm going to hate myself for the rest of my life," she said, her voice quivering. "Look at him, Cristina. If it doesn't work, I'll never forgive myself." Cristina looked at Derek's raw skin, covered by dressings and cold compresses. If the procedure didn't work he would be reduced to a life of pain, discomfort and scarring that could have been avoided if Meredith had made a different decision. Cristina knew that even though Meredith had allready made her decision, she didn't feel any better about it. She wouldn't until Derek was on the mend.

"What can I do?" Cristina asked, even though she knew there was nothing. Meredith shrugged, tears stinging the back of her eyes. Cristina didn't know what else to say so she simply rested her head against Meredith's shoulder.

"You realize this constitutes hugging," Meredith said, fighting back tears.

"Shut up, I'm your person," Cristina replied.

"Doctor Stevens," Mark said as he went into the lab where Izzie had been working on Derek's skin cells in preparation for his surgery.

"Yes, Doctor Sloan," Izzie replied, trying to sound less tired than she was. Mark didn't say anything. He just went over to Izzie and hugged her, taking her by surprise.

"Thank you," he whispered with a hint of emotion in his voice.

"Um… for what?" Izzie asked, confused.

"What you did for Derek, easing his pain like that. Those acupuncture needles worked. You went beyond what you had to do and I appreciate it," Mark said genuinely.

"Doctor Sloan, I didn't-" Izzie started before she realized what was going on. Of course Cristina wouldn't want to take credit for using holistic medicine. _Her loss, _Izzie thought to herself. "I… didn't know if they would work but I'm so glad that they did," she said with a smile.

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"Somebody should tell Bailey," Alex said from underneath his surgical mask.

"I know," Callie said, her voice seething with anger, exhaustion and frustration.

"I can do it if you want," Alex offered, even though he really didn't want to be the one to tell Bailey the news.

"No, I should be the one," Callie said sadly with a sigh. "Keep him stable. I'll be back in a few minutes." Alex and the rest of the surgical staff nodded as they kept a close watch on Tucker Jones.

As soon as she was out of the OR, Callie ripped the surgical mask off her face and tried to breathe.

'You can do this,' she said to herself quietly. This was by far the worst day of her surgical career; one disaster after another.

"How is he?" Bailey asked anxiously as Callie emerged from the scrub room. She was cradling a sleeping Tuck against her shoulder.

"He's going to live," Callie said. Bailey breathed a sigh of relief but she sensed that there was bad news to come. "But in order to keep that promise to you… I'm going to have to amputate one of his legs."

"No," Bailey whispered, her eyes filling with tears. Callie looked at her feet as she tried to explain the situation.

"His leg was crushed badly and it stayed trapped for a long time. The pressure still hasn't been released and if I release it and keep the leg he's going to go into cardiac arrest. I have to amputate."

"No," Bailey said, more determined this time. "You can keep it, you can release the pressure slowly and-" Callie shook her head.

"The weight's been on there for too long. He was trapped for over twelve hours, Miranda. He has no pulse in the artery of his leg, he can't feel it, and he will never feel it. I'm so sorry but I have to remove it to save him and I have to do it now." Bailey nodded as she kissed Tuck's head, tears streaming down her face."

"You save him," she managed to stammer.

"I promise," Callie replied. "I have to get back." Bailey nodded as Callie went back to the OR.

"What the hell's going on?" Callie asked, panicked, as she rushed back into the OR to find the surgical staff frantic.

"His pupils are blown," Alex said.

"What?" Callie asked once again. "He didn't come in here with a head injury."

"Yeah he did," Alex said as Callie checked Tucker's eyes. "We just didn't pick up on it."

"Okay, somebody page-" Callie stopped short as she realized that their best neurosurgeon was now a patient.

"Are you going to call it, Doctor Torres?" one of the nurses asked.

"Just give me a minute," Callie snapped. She looked down at Tucker. Medically she knew that there was nothing she could do. Her patient was brain dead. It happened all the time. Patients were brought in with no neurological symptoms and more obvious injuries which were tended to. There was no reason to do a brain scan that could have saved their lives.

"Do you want me to call it?" Alex offered. He could see that Callie was chocking up. Callie nodded.

"Time of death, 1:47pm," Alex said solemnly. The nursing staff began to pack up. "You did everything by the book," Alex said softly to Callie. "There was no warning that this was gonna happen." Callie knew that Alex was right but it didn't make her feel better.

"I just promised Bailey that I'd get her husband through this," Callie said, unable to take her eyes off Tucker. "Now I have to tell her that he's dead."


	18. Chapter 18

**CHAPTER EIGHTEEN**

"Do you want me to go with you?" Alex asked Callie. The surgical staff were long gone and Callie had been left standing over Tucker's body. The silence was eerie.

"I'm just trying to work out what to say," Callie said, her voice trembling very slightly.

"You're exhausted," Alex said. "I'll do it."

"We're all exhausted," Callie replied. "But if you could come with me that would be good."

"Sure," Alex replied. He looked down at Tucker, wishing that there was something else that he could do to make him look more presentable. That was difficult when he had been trapped in the wreckage that the earthquake had caused for such a log time.

"Let's go," Callie sighed, as she took her scrub cap off and let her long hair cascade down her back.

It turned out that Callie and Alex didn't need to say a word. As they solemnly walked down the hall of the surgical ward, Bailey instinctively knew what had happened.

"No," Bailey whispered, her chin quivering as she saw Callie and Alex walking towards her. She closed her eyes, held baby Tuck close to her and tried to block out where she was and what was happening.

"Miranda," Callie said sadly when they reached her.

"No," Bailey replied, her eyes closed firmly. Callie looked at Alex.

"We did everything that we could," Alex said gently.  
"Just shut up!" Bailey snapped at him. "I don't need to hear you say it!"

"Miranda," Callie said sympathetically. She sat down beside Bailey and placed her hand gently on her shoulder.

"Don't touch me!" Bailey snapped. "Nobody touch me! No body talk to me! Just leave me the hell alone!" Alex and Callie looked helplessly at one another.

"Is there someone we can call?" Callie stammered.

"There is no one," Bailey said, a tear streaming down her face as she held Tuck even closer to her. "We don't have anyone now." Alex and Callie didn't know what else to say to her so they quietly left Bailey and Tuck alone.

As they walked, Callie sped up, overtaking Alex and storming into an on call room.

Callie slammed the door shut behind her and sighed heavily before realizing that she wasn't alone. Mark Sloan was lying on the bottom bunk of one of the beds. Their eyes met.

"I'm not in the mood," they both said at the same time.

"What's your excuse?" Mark asked Callie as she sat on the bottom bunk opposite him.

"Bailey's husband just died on my table," Callie said. It had all happened so quickly that it didn't seem real.

"Jesus," Mark said in disbelief. "Poor Bailey."

"I know," Callie said sadly.

"You were the one that told her?" Mark asked.

"Yeah, I'm that person," Callie replied. "Now whenever she sees me I'm not her friend or her colleague anymore. I'm that person that told her that her husband's dead." She sighed and laid back on the bed. "How's Derek?" she asked.

"Stable," Mark replied. He didn't like to show emotions but Callie could tell from his tone of voice and the fact that he was wide awake despite being awake for nearly two days that he was feeling it.

"Can I ask a favor?" Mark asked after a long silence.

"I told you I'm not in the mood," Callie replied.

"Not that kind of favor… for once," Mark said. "When this is over. When I've done Derek's surgery and you finally get a break, I want to get really, really drunk."

"Count me in," Callie said as she yawned. "Can you do me a favor?"

"Anything," Mark replied.

"Just stay here and talk to me a while longer okay? I don't want to be alone right now."

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"Hey!" George said loudly as he entered Derek's room.

"Shhh!" Lexie motioned from the other side of the room. George looked confused and Lexie pointed to Meredith who was slumped in a chair beside Derek's bed fast asleep and snoring lightly. George stepped back outside and waited for Lexie. Lexie went over to Derek's bedside.

"I'll be back in a minute okay?" she said. Derek nodded.

"You'd think I'd be used to her snoring by now," Derek joked, his voice still husky from the smoke inhalation.

"If you ever get used to that sound," Lexie said, gesturing towards Meredith, "you deserve a prize." Derek laughed. "I'll be back soon," Lexie said.

"Hey," George said as Lexie stepped outside. "I heard the acupuncture actually worked."

"Yeah it did," Lexie replied. "He's not completely pain free but it's helped him a lot. He's relaxed enough so that Meredith can go to sleep."

"Yeah I heard her from the elevator," George joked. Lexie giggled.

"How are you holding up?" George asked Lexie sweetly.

"Me?"

"I don't see anyone else around," George said. "It can't be easy watching people you care about hurting."

"No it's not," Lexie admitted. "I know Meredith and I aren't part of your average happy family but I love her, I can't help it. I don't like the thought of leaving her, even if I can't do anything to help."

"You're a good sister," George said. I'm sure she appreciates it." Lexie smiled a little, hoping that it was true. "If you want, I can sit with you guys. Hahn thinks I look too tired and wont let me near an OR until I've had a few hours sleep."

"Be my guest," Lexie said. "I just hope you can put up with Meredith's snoring." George laughed and followed Lexie back into Derek's room.

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"I should say something to her," Izzie said to Alex as they stood at the end of the surgical hall watching Bailey. They hated knowing that she was in so much pain but they both knew that nothing that they could say could begin to ease the pain that she was feeling.

"What would you say to her?" Alex asked Izzie. He sighed as he laid eyes on baby Tuck. "Poor kid's never gonna know his dad." Alex's pager went off. "Good luck," he said to Izzie before heading back to the ER. Izzie took a deep breath and walked over to Bailey.

"Doctor Bailey?" she said in a nervous voice as she approached her. Izzie could see that Bailey had been crying. She looked exhausted. "Let me take you to a hotel okay? You can take a hot bath and lie down." Bailey nodded and looked up at Izzie. It was a look that Izzie didn't recognize. She seemed hollow, as though her spirit had been taken from her. It frightened Izzie to see Bailey of all people this way. Would she ever recover? Izzie wondered. Izzie helped Bailey to her feet and led her and Tuck out to her car.


	19. Chapter 19

Just a heads up that there's only a few chapters left of this fic. Hope you like the update!

**CHAPTER NINETEEN**

It was midnight; and the silence at Seattle Grace hospital was eerie. The surgical cases had steadied and most of the staff had either gone home or had grabbed some much needed sleep. Mark went into Derek's room to find Derek awake and seemingly peaceful.

"What's that noise?" he asked Derek. Derek pointed to the corner of the room where Meredith was asleep. Her snoring had increased in volume the longer she slept.

"Jesus," Mark said to himself in disbelief.

"Not quite," Derek joked. Mark smiled, relieved to see that Derek had retained his sense of humor.

"How are you feeling, man?" he checked Derek's patient chart. "All ready for your surgery tomorrow?"

"I guess so," Derek said. "It's a lot scarier being on this side of it let me tell you."

"Are you sure you don't want me to fix your nose while you're under?" Mark asked jokingly. "Two for the price of one?"

"What's wrong with my-" Derek started but was cut off by Mark laughing.

"Just messing with ya," Mark said. "It's great to have you back. I was going to stay but I don't think I can put up with this," he said gesturing towards Meredith. Derek laughed a little.

"Oh and one more thing," Mark said. "Your mother called."

"Oh God no," Derek replied.

"I said I'd keep her updated but you're going to have to speak to her at some stage," Mark said. "You know what she's like."

"That I do," Derek agreed. "Hold her off for as long as possible okay? You never know. You could find yourself back in her good books." Mark laughed.

"Yeah that's gonna happen," he said sarcastically. "I'll give you some more morphine to take the edge off and I'll see you tomorrow." Mark watched on amazed as Meredith snored away before leaving the room.

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"Why are you still here?" Alex asked Cristina as they sat with George and Callie in the surgeon's lounge. "You're not even on duty."

"Since when has that ever stopped her," Callie replied.

"Good evening everybody," Izzie said with a smile as she joined them. "While you have been sitting on your asses I have made skin."

"So Derek's surgery is going ahead tomorrow?" George asked.

"You bet it is," Izzie replied. "It's time to turn this tragedy around. Something good has to come from this."

"Did you ever stop to think that life doesn't work that way?" Cristina asked cynically. "Bad things happen to good people."

"Like Bailey and the Chief," George said sadly.

"Exactly," Cristina replied. "Somehow I don't think this is all part of the greater good. Life sucks and we just have to fight like hell to make it through unscathed."

"Amen," Alex spoke up.

"You're right," Izzie said. "Bad things do happen but you can either sit here and bitch about it or you can try to turn it around."

"Who are you, Ghandi?" Callie asked.

Suddenly Cristina's cell phone received a message. She looked around, confused. Everybody she usually talked to was at the hospital.

"It's from Burke," Cristina said in disbelief. "Why would Burke be messaging me?"

"Maybe he's worried about you," George suggested.

"The guy didn't seem too worried about leaving on my wedding day," Cristina snapped back bitterly. "Not that I care," she added defensively. She opened the message.

"What does it say?" Callie asked, upon seeing Cristina's facial expression.

"It says 'what the hell?'" Cristina said, confused. "Why would he," she scanned her memory. "NO!!" She yelled. "Oh hell no. Please no. Please no!" Cristina found her sent messages on her cell phone hoping that what she was suddenly remembering was a dream and not the result of a heavy dose of morphine. She gasped when she realized that she had in fact sent Burke a message.

"Oh it can't be that bad," Callie said. "We've all sent messages to an ex from time to time." Callie snatched the cell phone from Cristina's grasp and read the message. "I want to WHOA, Cristina!" Callie said, shocked by what she was reading. "You dirty, dirty girl!" For the first time since the earthquake Alex laughed and laughed, imagining what Cristina had texted to Burke. George also began to laugh. Cristina slunk in her chair, while the others laughed around her.

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The next morning Cristina awoke to her cell phone ringing. She had fallen asleep on a couch in the surgeon's lounge. They all had.

George smiled cheekily at Cristina. She began to freak out, thinking that it was Burke. She tried to hide her panic from the others as she picked up her cell phone. She sighed with relief when she saw that it was Lexie calling.

"Yeah," Cristina said.

"I just kept giving her candy like you were doing and now she won't stop," Lexie said.

"Huh?" Cristina asked, clearly confused.

"Meredith!" Lexie snapped at her so loudly that George could hear.

"Okay I'll be right there," Cristina said. She reached for her crutches and left the surgeon's lounge, followed by George as Alex and Callie slept.

When Cristina and George reached the ICU ward they found Lexie standing in the hall looking worried.

"Where is she?" Cristina asked. Lexie pointed into an exam room.

"It started about three hours ago," Lexie said. "I've never seen sugar affect someone like this. Although I've never seen someone eat this much sugar. I didn't know it was possible." Cristina peered into the exam room to see Meredith pacing back and forth.

"Mer?" Cristina asked.

"Oh hey!" Meredith replied, a little too brightly.

"You wanna give me the candy bar?" Cristina asked, taking a step into the room. Meredith shook her head.

"You know, I never realized that sugar could feel like this," Meredith said.

"I tried to stop her," Lexie said defensively.

"Mer, no one is supposed to eat this much sugar," Cristina said, trying to be supportive. "No more, okay?"

"My father's an alcoholic," Meredith replied. "I have an addictive personality. This was bound to happen sooner or later."

"At least she's not drunk," George said, trying to be helpful.

"Not helping!" Cristina snapped back at him.

"Okay Mer, here's the thing. Your boyfriend is about to go into surgery," Cristina said. "Now you can stay here in candyland or you can deal with it and go and see him. Because if anything happens to him…" her voice trailed off. "You have to see him." Meredith stopped pacing. Cristina extended her hand. Meredith sighed and handed the candy bar to her. Cristina took a bite and watched as Meredith went into Derek's room.

"Hey," Derek said with a soft smile as Meredith walked over to him. "Where have you been?" Meredith felt her eyes fill with tears, everything that she had been trying to push out of her mind was suddenly right there.

"I've been trying to figure out what to say to you," Meredith said honestly.

"I don't know what to say either," Derek said. "You always think that in a moment like this you'll know exactly what to say." Meredith nodded. She understood.

"I love you," Meredith said. It had always been such a hard thing for her to say but now it seemed like the only thing appropriate.

"I love you too," Derek said. "So much." Meredith took Derek's hand in hers. They kissed on the lips tenderly.

"Sorry to interrupt," Izzie said softly from behind them. "The OR is ready." Meredith wiped a tear away and nodded. She kissed Derek on the lips again and then on the cheek.

"Can I walk him to the OR?" she asked Izzie.

"Sure," Izzie replied. Meredith held Derek's hand as the orderlies wheeled Derek's bed to the OR. Meredith thought she saw a look of fear on Derek's face but he tried to hide it as he smiled up at her.

"I'm sorry. You have to stay here," Izzie said gently as they got closer to the OR. Meredith nodded. She reached down and kissed Derek on the lips one more time. Meredith forced herself to step back as Derek was wheeled away from her. It took every ounce of strength within her not to run after him. When Derek was out of sight, Meredith burst into tears. She couldn't stand it. As her tiny body racked with sobs, she felt a hand on her shoulder. Meredith looked over to see Lexie standing beside her. Lexie pulled Meredith into a hug and Meredith buried her head in her sister's shoulder.

"You're going to be okay," Lexie said as she hugged Meredith. They both hoped that was true.


	20. Chapter 20

Thank you so much to the people who have been reviewing and following this story. I'm sorry that it's been so long between updates. Recently a close friend of mine passed away. Grey's Anatomy was our joint obsession so it's been hard to even think about updating my fics with a clear head. Anyway, I'm going to give it a go. Thank you for your patience and I hope that this update is alright.

**CHAPTER TWENTY**

Meredith sat on the comfortable couch in the waiting room that was reserved for the anxious relatives of surgical patients. Her head rested gently on Lexie's shoulder. Usually the thought of such closeness and intimacy, especially with Lexie, would make her want to run a mile but Meredith needed her sister that day. Cristina nervously paced around the waiting room while George sat on the couch opposite Meredith, looking as worried as Meredith felt. Although it wasn't intentional, their anxiety only added to how scared Meredith felt. Meredith closed her eyes, trying to block out Cristina's footsteps, George's worried expression and the uncomfortable silence that enveloped them.

She thought back to the last words that she had said to Derek. _"I love you." _It was as simple and as difficult as that. If those were the last words that she would ever say to Derek they were the right words. Not that that was of any comfort to her.

"Chief?" George's voice pulled Meredith out of her thoughts. She opened her eyes to see Richard standing before them. Hollow was the word that came to mind when she laid eyes on him. He seemed to be a shell of his former self.

"What are you doing here?" Lexie asked Richard. They were all surprised to see him, considering what he had been through.

"I need to be here right now," Richard stammered. He took a seat beside Meredith and gently took one of her hands in his in a paternal manner. Despite everything that he was feeling and as raw as the loss of Adele felt, there was no way that Richard could sit at home knowing that Derek was in surgery and that Meredith could be feeling a fraction of the pain that he was feeling inside.

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"So far, so good," Mark said, one hundred percent focused on Derek's surgery. This was his first spray on skin surgery. Mark couldn't remember the last time that he tried something for the first time. He looked up at Izzie who appeared just as focused as he was. If it wasn't for her, he might not even be trying something so unconventional and outside his realm of expertise. That wasn't lost on him. Mark studied Izzie closer and realized that her eyes were closed and she appeared to be whispering.

"Doctor Stevens?" he asked. "Are you… praying?" Izzie whispered for a while longer and then opened her eyes.

"Yes," Izzie asked honesty.

"Praying that I don't bail on the patient again and leave you alone to deal with it?" Mark asked.

"No," Izzie answered honestly. "Don't underestimate yourself. I was praying that this works and that Derek and Meredith don't have to deal with any more pain. I keep thinking of all the time they wasted being mad at each other and not trusting each other. It all seems so pointless now." Mark nodded in silent agreement.

"His respitory system is holding up better than I expected it to," Mark said, trying to keep his voice clear of emotion. "Our main concern is that these grafts hold." Mark paused for a moment. His most difficult challenge had been not in the technique of the surgery but in trying to treat Derek as any other patient.

"Doctor Stevens," Mark said, finally asking the question that he had been avoiding all along but which he would have asked much earlier had it been any other patient. "What will happen if the surgery is unsuccessful?"

"Derek…" Izzie started. "I mean, the patient, will experience extreme physical pain and will need urgent skin grafts. Unfortunately the ideal time for skin grafts to minimize scarring has passed so he can expect a longer healing time, extreme discomfort and scarring if this surgery doesn't work."

"That's correct," Mark said, trying to remain as detached as possible. He willed himself not to look at Derek's face.

"However," Izzie said, in a positive tone. "The patient is holding up well in the surgery so far. He is in good physical shape and does not have any underlying medical conditions which could compromise his recovery. I personally believe that if we as doctors have a positive attitude towards his outcome, we can give the patient the best possible chance at a full recovery." Mark couldn't help but be impressed.

"You're gonna make a fine teacher some day, Stevens," he said as the continued the surgery."

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Back in the waiting room, Meredith, Lexie, Richard, George and Cristina, who was still pacing, all looked up in unison as they saw Miranda Bailey, holding baby Tuck, standing at the entrance to the waiting room. Bailey looked tired, her eyes were swollen from crying and yet she had left the comfort of her home to be there.

"Is everything alright?" George asked Bailey, immediately regretting the question. Of course everything wasn't alright.

"No one gets left behind," Bailey said, with her characteristic strength evident beneath her grief. "One of our own is on the operating table. I need to be here." Richard nodded. He knew exactly what Bailey meant. George stood up and took baby Tuck from Bailey's arms, allowing her to at least attempt to rest as she sat down on the couch beside the Chief.

After what seemed like an eternity and after Alex had joined them after a surgery, the group finally received an update. Lexie nudged Meredith gently and Meredith, who was still trying to block everything out, opened her eyes to see Izzie making her way down the corridor. As Meredith's eyes readjusted to the light, she couldn't tell if it was good or bad news. Her heart pounded so hard that she felt like it was going to burst out of her chest.

"How is he?" Bailey asked. It was evident that she had pinned all of her hopes on Derek being okay. That was all that they could hope for.

"The surgery's going really well," Izzie said, positively, yet cautiously. "Doctor Sloan is doing an amazing job. Derek's responding very well. Of course it'll take time after to know how successful the surgery is but I just wanted you to know that so far everything is looking really good." Meredith breathed a sigh of relief. Her inner pessimist would not let her believe that they were out of the woods yet but this was better than nothing.

"How much longer?" Meredith finally managed to stammer.

"We should be finished the surgery in about ninety minutes," Izzie said. "I should get back." Izzie gave them all a comforting smile and headed back to the OR to continue in assisting Mark in Derek's landmark surgery.

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As Izzie had promised, just under ninety minutes later, Mark Sloan, with quiet confidence, announced that Derek's surgery was complete. The scrub nurses gave a little round of applause and they all silently hoped that the surgery hadn't been in vain.

"So what now?" Izzie asked Mark in the scrub room as they took their surgical masks off.

"Now, we wait," Mark said. "You get some rest. You've earned it. I'll stay with him and we can alternate."

"Thanks," Izzie said, appreciatively. She was exhausted. She turned to leave.

"Hey Stevens," Mark called after her. Izzie turned back around to him. "Thank you," Mark said genuinely. "Thank you for convincing me to do this surgery, to take a risk. I think I was getting a little too comfortable playing the expert. I needed that push." Izzie gave Mark a smile back and left the scrub room to inform everybody of the good news.


	21. Chapter 21

Hey everyone. I just wanted to thank you for your patience in between updates. I'm really glad that this fic still has a following. I also wanted to thank those of you who left such sweet words regarding the loss of my friend. Even though I don't know many of you personally it was really comforting to read your kind words so thank you so much for that. You're very sweet. I hope that you like this update.

**CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE**

Izzie headed down the hall of the surgical ward and towards the waiting room. She didn't try to suppress the smile on her face. Finally, after a nightmare few days, something was finally going their way. Izzie knew that there were no guarantees. The technique might not work, but the fact that Derek had made it through such an experimental surgery with flying colors gave her cause for hope.

When she reached the end of the hall, Izzie stopped as she observed the Seattle Grace family. Richard was holding one of Meredith's hands, Lexie was holding the other. Alex, Cristina and Callie were also seated in the waiting, as was Bailey who, along with the Chief, had been to hell and back in the past day. George sat on the ground playing pick a boo with baby Tuck. Izzie's colleagues were tired. They were physically, mentally and emotionally drained and yet they were all there to support their own. It made her proud.

Izzie entered the waiting room and everyone's attention was immediately drawn to her. They breathed collective sighs of relief as they saw the smile on her face that she couldn't conceal.

"He held up really well through the surgery," Izzie said proudly. "Of course we can't say how successful the procedure was but he's a fighter and he's made it so far." Izzie's eyes met with Meredith's which had filled with tears.

"Thank you," Meredith mouthed tearfully to Izzie. Finally after all the tragedy there was a glimmer of hope.

"Do you want to see him?" Izzie asked Meredith. Meredith nodded and stood up. To everyone's surprise, she held on to Lexie's hand, bringing her to her feet as well. Suddenly Izzie's pager beeped.

"Dammit," Izzie, said to herself. "I'm sorry, Mer. I have to see another patient."

"I'll take over," Mark said, appearing in the doorway to the waiting room. Upon close examination one would be able to notice that his eyes were a little red. After Derek's surgery, when he found himself alone in the scrub room, Mark had shed tears of enormous relief. No body would ever find out how scared he had been. Mark gave Meredith a smile and put his arm around her, as though she were his younger sister.

"Come with me," he said as he led her to the recovery room where Derek was starting to wake up.

Derek opened his eyes groggily. The bright lights were too much straight away and he immediately closed his eyes again. He felt like he was floating but he told himself that it was probably the medication. He didn't like seeing things from the patient's point of view. A nurse checked Derek's blood pressure and suddenly he heard familiar muffled voices.

"Meredith," he said hoarsely, his voice still damaged from the burns.

"Hey," Meredith said, the relief evident in her voice. "How are you feeling?"

"Better now you're here," Derek replied.

"Geez the man's been awake for five seconds and he's already charming the women," Mark joked. Derek managed a laugh. Derek had bandages covering his arm, leg and chest where the grafts had been done. His face remained uncovered and Meredith took full advantage of this, leaning over him and kissing him softly on the lips. Derek kissed back, relieved to have Meredith close to him. Meredith relaxed more and leaned further into Derek.

"Ow!" Derek shouted suddenly, Meredith jumped back.

"You'll have to watch where you lean," Mark spoke up. "No getting carried away."

"I'm sorry," Meredith said, looking worried and guilty.

"Forget about it," Derek said. "It was worth it."

"I'll be more careful," Meredith said to Mark who was checking Derek's vitals.

"I know you will, Grey," Mark replied. He didn't seem too concerned. "Everything looks good so we'll have you transferred to your room and we'll wait it out."

"When will you know if it worked?" Derek asked Mark. He had tried to keep his tones neutral but it was obvious to Mark and Meredith that he was scared.

"Tomorrow morning," Mark said. "When you wake up I'm going to see how it's looking under all that dressing. If it worked, no surgery for a while."

"And if it didn't?" Meredith asked fearfully, asking the question that Derek was too scared to ask. There was a long, painful silence.

"If it didn't work," Mark spoke up. "You'll be back in the OR tomorrow night having conventional skin grafts and… there will be some issues with healing and pain management." Derek and Meredith nodded. No body said anything.

"But," Mark spoke up. "Everything is on track right now so we'll deal with that if and when we have to. Let's get you back to your room." Several orderlies approached Derek's bed and wheeled it down the hall. Meredith turned around to where Lexie had been standing while she was with Derek. Lexie had tears streaming down her face.

"What's wrong?" Meredith asked, her concerned.

"I'm just…." Lexie started, but then a sob escaped her. "You know? It's just that…" Meredith couldn't help but smile. She did know. They had been hit with so much emotion in the past couple of days and now Lexie was finally able to let go and feel it.

"I think I need…" Lexie started, but another sob escaped her.

"I think you need to look at the babies," Meredith said in her diagnostic doctor voice.

"I really need to go and look at the babies," Lexie agreed.

"Come on," Meredith said as she led Lexie down to the maternity ward while Derek settled into his room.

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Can we see him, Chief? George asked Richard from the waiting room where the rest of them had stayed.

"I think he needs some alone time with Meredith," Richard replied, even though he wanted to see with his own eyes that Derek was okay. Richard stuck his hands in his pockets and came across his cell phone. He realized that it was turned off so he switched it on. A few seconds later a text message came through.

Cristina was sitting on the couch opposite the chief when a brief flashback of her morphine experience hit her like a brick. But it was too late. Richard had already seen the text which had been sent from her phone the night before. Richard's face changed colour. He looked embarrassed and angry at the same time. His eyes met Cristina's. Cristina wanted to run out of the room but she couldn't feel her legs. She couldn't feel any part of her except her heart thudding extra hard in her chest. She opened her mouth to speak but she had lost her voice.

"I'm old enough to be your father!" Richard said, extremely embarrassed. He turned to George. "O'Malley, how do you delete this?" he asked, handing the phone to George.

"Don't show-!" Cristina started, finally finding her voice but it was too late.

"Whoa! Oh my God!" George said, reading the contents of the message.

"O'Malley, delete it!" Richard said with a raised, embarrassed voice.

"It's gone, Sir," George promised. Suddenly Alex was unable to control his laugher. He had caught a glimpse of the explicit things that Cristina had said to the Chief.

"What the hell did you say to the Chief?" Bailey asked.

Cristina stood up ready to say something but knew that she couldn't explain her way out of this one. She turned and left her giggling and embarrassed colleagues in the waiting room.


	22. Chapter 22

Thank you to those who reviewed! This is probably my favourite of my fics to write. I love getting to write all of the characters instead of just a few. Anyway, here's an update. Enjoy!

**CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO **

Mark kept a watchful eye over Derek's progress. It was still too early to tell if the surgery had been a success but Mark was trying to be optimistic. Optimism had never been one of his dominant traits but the possibility that the surgery hadn't been successful was too much for Mark to think about. He would have to live with that for the rest of his life.

Meredith hadn't left Derek's side since the surgery. She showed no signs of running away from this crisis, not even a hint of the hesitancy that had plagued her in the past. Meredith was standing by Derek's bedside holding his hand. They were talking in hushed voices that Mark couldn't hear, occasionally laughing to themselves.

"I'm going to check on some other patients," Mark spoke up, unsure of whether Derek and Meredith were even aware that he was still in the room.

"Hey Mark," Derek called out as Mark was about to leave. "Thanks, man."

"Don't thank me yet," Mark said with a cocky smile that hid his fears. "I'll see you before I leave."

Derek lifted Meredith's hand, which was entwined in his, to his lips and kissed it gently. He had a certain look in his eyes.

"What?" Meredith asked, giggling.

"Marry me," Derek said softly. Meredith's eyes widened in surprise.

"What?" she asked.

"Marry me," Derek said a little louder. Meredith was speechless. That was the last thing that she had expected to hear.

"But…" she started. "How much morphine have you had? Are you serious?"

"I've never been more serious about anything in my life," Derek replied. "I know I should be on one knee and have champagne and a ring but that doesn't change the fact that I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you." Meredith was still speechless. She knew that Derek would pop the question one day. It was something that she had feared but fear was the last thing that she felt in that moment. She felt something unexpected: exhilaration.

"Maybe I shouldn't have asked," Derek said despondently, studying Meredith's shocked expression.

"No… I mean yes. No you shouldn't not have asked. And yes I will marry you," Meredith said, starting to ramble a little. "It's just that you're a patient and I'm not used to that. I wasn't thinking about marriage, just getting through these days but yes I do. I mean I will." Meredith continued to ramble. "Oh my God we're going to get married." She locked eyes with Derek and they both laughed. Meredith felt a surge of love for him pour over her. It was all consuming and scary. She bent over to be closer to Derek and kissed him passionately on the lips. _Maybe I will get my happy ending _she thought to herself. And something that she couldn't ever remember thinking; _maybe I deserve it. _

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After doing the rounds on the other burns patients, Mark headed into the surgeon's lounge. He couldn't remember the last time that he had had so many patients at once. He was even more surprised at how the smell of burnt flesh seemed almost unnoticble now. He was thankful for that.

"Hey," Mark said to Izzie as he saw her sitting on the couch with a laptop. She was holding a document and reading it intently. "What's that?" Mark asked, sitting on the couch opposite Izzie.

"It's the documentation for the American Journal of Medicine on the spray on skin surgical trial," Izzie replied.

"That was fast," Mark said, impressed. "I hadn't even thought about that yet."

"I like to write things up while they're fresh in my memory," Izzie said. She handed the article to Mark. He started reading it.

"This isn't half bad, Stevens," he said as he perused her work. "It's really good actually."

"I thought maybe it was a little too clinical and-"

"Don't talk yourself down," Mark interrupted. "This is great work." He studied the article for a little while longer. "I don't see your name on here," he said.

"Well, you're the Attending," Izzie said.

"And you're the Resident," Mark said, "If you're looking at a future in plastics, this is a great opportunity for you." He handed the article. "Put your name on it," he said. "Take some credit for what you've done or else you can't call yourself a surgeon." Izzie smiled a little and began to edit the article on the laptop. Mark yawned and laid down on the couch. "I'm going to sleep," he said. "Wake me if the sky falls."

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Meredith searched all over the hospital for Cristina. No body knew where she was. She wasn't in any of the obvious places so as a last resort Meredith headed to the maternity ward. She stopped suddenly when she saw Cristina standing by the window, looking in at the newborn babies.

"I didn't seriously expect to find you here," Meredith said out loud.

"Exactly," Cristina replied as Meredith peered through the window. "I'm in hiding. I wanted to do perverted things to the Chief on morphine." Meredith laughed.

"You can't hide forever," Meredith said. There was a long silence between them. "I'm engaged," she suddenly announced. Cristina did a double take.

"You're WHAT?" she asked.

"I know," Meredith replied. "I can't believe it either. Derek just proposed."

"You can't believe what anyone says on morphine," Cristina said. Meredith laughed.

"He was totally lucid," Meredith said. "I'm pretty sure anyway." Cristina suddenly had a realization.

"Thank you," she said gratefully to Meredith.

"Huh?" Meredith asked.

"Soon everybody will be talking about McDreamy marrying his slutty intern and they'll forget all about my horny morphine scandal."

"Hahn wont," Meredith replied with a laugh. "And don't thank me yet. You have wear a bridesmaid's dress and they'll be photographs and flowers and family and-"

"Okay I've heard enough," Cristina said in disgust. She turned to Meredith. "The thought of photographs and flowers and family doesn't make you want to run?"

"I forgot to mention liquor," Meredith replied with a laugh. "Lots of liquor." She paused for a moment. I just want to be with him. I actually want to be married to him. After the last few days a wedding seems like a walk in the park. And I almost never got the chance to marry him and now I have that."

Cristina didn't reply. Sentimentality wasn't her thing but from her silence, Meredith knew that she understood. "Anyway," Meredith said to lighten the tone. "Are you going to hide here with the babies forever or are you going to face everybody?" Cristina mumbled something inaudibly and reluctantly allowed herself to be led by Meredith out of the maternity ward.

Meredith and Cristina headed down the hall back to Derek's room. When they reached the room they were shocked to see that Derek was gone. Lexie and George were standing by his empty bed.

"Where's Derek?" Meredith asked.

Lexie turned around to face Meredith. Her eyes were filled with tears.

_(Okay I know that's a cruel way to end things. I promise that I will update very soon)_


	23. Chapter 23

As promised, here's the next update so soon after the last one. That was a cruel cliffhanger but I was running out of time and wanted to get something posted. ANYWAY, here's what you have been waiting for. Enjoy!

**CHAPTER TWENRY-THREE **

"What?" Meredith asked. She didn't want to ask it. She didn't want to know. In that moment she had felt as though all of her worst fears had been confirmed. It had to be some cruel joke, she realized. The universe had never been on her side. This time it had tricked her into believing that she could be happy and have a future with the only man that she had ever loved and at the last minute it had all been taken away. Lexie spoke but Meredith didn't even hear what she was saying. She felt her knees buckle from under her, the sort of thing that she thought only happened in movies. George and Cristina grabbed her before she fell.

"Did you hear what I said?" Lexie asked, anxiously, her voice wobbling. Meredith looked up at her sister and shook her head. Lexie told her again.

"Derek went into respitory distress," Lexie explained. "George and I were visiting him and he was telling us how he proposed to you and then he… he couldn't breathe. We paged Doctor Sloan and he had to intubate him. He's in another induced coma and they had to move him into ICU. His airways are still badly burned from the fire."

"Doctor Sloan said that this can come on very quickly," George said softly. A tear rolled down Meredith's cheek and he wiped it away. "The important thing is that they got to it very quickly, he's being treated for it and Doctor Sloan said that he should be able to come off the ventilator in twenty-four hours if there are no complications."

Meredith took a deep shaky breath. At first she had thought that Derek had died. While she was relieved that he hadn't, the knowledge that his life was once again hanging in the balance made her feel as if she couldn't breathe.

"Come on," Cristina said. "Let's go and see him. You'll feel better when you see him." Meredith nodded and was led by Cristina out of the room.

George sighed.

"Never a dull moment in this place," he said turning to Lexie who had started to cry. "What is it?" he asked, worried about her.

"As if they haven't been though enough," Lexie said as the tears that she had tried so hard to hold back fell down her face. "I just want them to be happy. I want my sister to be happy and I want Derek to be okay. I can't remember the last time that I slept," she said, wiping her eyes. "I'm exhausted."

"I know," George said gently. He pulled Lexie into a hug and held her. "We should go and find some coffee." Lexie nodded.

"We'll order something with as much caffeine as they can give us," George said, trying to cheer Lexie up. "And lots of cream."

"Sounds good," Lexie said with a little smile as George led her out of Derek's room and towards the cafeteria with his arm around her.

Meredith and Cristina reached the ICU ward. Meredith peered through the window of the door and into Derek's room. What she saw broke her heart. Once again Derek was lying in his back with a tube down his throat and machines assisting him to breathe. Mark Sloan was standing by his bedside with a serious expression on his face, watching him closely.

_It's not fair, _Meredith thought to herself. She felt as though she was going to explode.

"Do you want to go inside?" Cristina asked Meredith. She could feel Meredith's anger permeating the room. Meredith shook her head.

"No, I don't want any of this," she said with quiet anger. Cristina sighed.

"I know that," she said. "But it's happened. You can't pretend that it hasn't."

The elevator doors to the ICU opened and Izzie stepped out. Meredith turned to her and all of the anger that she was feeling spilled out at once.

"Where were you?" Meredith asked angrily. Izzie didn't know how to respond. This wasn't the greeting that she had expected. "You're his doctor!" Meredith shouted. "You should have watched him closer. His breathing problems should have been taken care of already!"

"Mer, we treated him," Izzie said, not believing Meredith's outburst even though it was happening right in front of her. "He responded well to the tests. We thought that he was over the worst of it."

"Well you should have done more tests!" Meredith shouted. She was starting to cry now. She couldn't hold it in any longer. "You should have been more concerned with making sure that he was okay before making a name for yourself!"

"Mer," Izzie started, trying to reason with her friend. "There was no warning that this was going to happen." Meredith didn't reply. She was just shaking.

"Mer," Izzie said again, taking a step closer to Meredith. "You've seen cases like this before. It happens. You know that it does and that it isn't anyone else's fault. All we can do is watch the patients and make sure that we respond quickly if something happens. That's what we did. We got to him before his airways closed up and he's stable now."

"Izzie's right," Cristina spoke up. "God, I can't believe I just said that… but she is right, Mer." Meredith took a deep breath and tried to think clinically. She knew that what Izzie had said was right. Nobody had been negligent. If anything, they had saved Derek's life by acting so quickly. Meredith took a deep breath and looked back up at Izzie who hadn't dared to move from where she had been standing.

"I'm-" Meredith started to apologize but Izzie stopped her.

"Don't," Izzie said. "You almost lost the love of your life. You have every right to be angry. Do you want to go in and see him?" Meredith hesitated for a moment but one more look at Derek told her that she couldn't be anywhere else. She nodded. Izzie opened the door to Derek's room and let Meredith inside.

Mark looked up at Meredith but didn't say anything. He looked exhausted in every sense of the word. Meredith sat down beside Derek's bed and rested her hand on the arm that wasn't burnt.

Richard and Bailey approached the window of Derek's hospital room. Cristina blushed a little when she saw the Chief, reliving the horror of her text messages.

"How is he?' Bailey asked her as they stood outside Derek's room.

"Stable," Cristina said with a sigh. Both Bailey and Richard looked despondent. They had both lost the love of their lives. It seemed like they were clinging to the hope that one of their own would get their happy ending to prove to themselves that there was still good in the world after all that they had seen lately.

"I wish I could do something," the Chief said.

"Me too," Cristina said quietly, showing a hint of just how much it hurt her to see her best friend hurting so much. "Me too."


	24. Chapter 24

Hey there

Gosh, I'm sorry about the lack of updates. This fic has been harder to finish than I thought it would be. A few chapters ago I mentioned that a close friend of mine passed away, and that she read my fics. Well, I didn't finish this fic before she passed away, as much as I tried to and yeah, every time I went to update this I got weighed down by sad thoughts but I've forced myself to soldier on so here's a long overdue update. I thought I owed you guys an explanation, but I'm glad that it's done. I really wanted to complete it because it's my favourite of the fics that I've written. Plus, I know that my friend wouldn't be impressed with me if I quit.

This is the final chapter of this fic. Than you to everybody who read it and who reviewed it. I really, really appreciate it.

**CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR**

The twenty-four hours after Derek's induced coma felt like twenty-four years. Meredith left the room only when absolutely necessary, feeling as though she was leaving a bit of herself behind every time. Any doubts that she had about her commitment to Derek were a thing of the past now. She felt sad that it had taken something this big to put those fears to rest.

Finally Mark and Izzie announced that Derek would be able to come off the ventilator. As he slowly came back to consciousness, Meredith held on tightly to his hand, willing him with everything that she had to return to her. Outside the door of his ICU ward, Richard and Bailey had remained a close vigil, praying and willing everything to go smoothly. They couldn't bear to lose someone else and they couldn't watch Meredith go through everything that they were going though. Their hope grew as Derek's status grew stronger. His respitory function was improving steadily and Izzie had been very pleased to report that the innovative spray on skin procedure had been a great success. It was working better than they had expected.

Cristina, cast and all, hadn't wandered very far from the ICU ward either. Her concern for her person trumped any embarrassment that she had felt over her many morphine induced sexual advances on the Seattle Grace staff. She was back to her old self, snapping at anyone who dared to make fun of her and stopping any curious interns from finding their way near Derek's room.

Lexie and George had also stayed close by. When they heard that Derek was being brought off the ventilator and would be breathing on his own again, they stood in the hallway, holding hands and hoping for the best. Everything that had happened over the last few days had brought them together closer than they had imagined that they could be.

Finally, Derek opened his eyes and the first face that he saw was Meredith's.

"Hey," he moaned, groggily.

"Hey there," Meredith replied with a smile, unable to hide how happy she was to have him back. She leant forward and kissed him passionately on the lips. The smile that broadened across her face made her giggle. "I'm so glad you're back," she said as she kissed him again.

"Me too," Derek replied. "Especially if you're gonna keep kissing me like that."

Izzie smiled to herself as she stood, a couple of meters away from Derek's bed. She turned to Mark only to see that he wasn't beside her. He was standing in the corner of the room, facing the wall, with his thumb and forefinger over his eyes. Izzie went over to him and could see that he was crying silent tears of relief.

"Are you okay?" she whispered. Mark nodded.

"Damn allergies," Mark replied, making excuses. Izzie smiled and patted Mark on the back gently before turning her attention back to Meredith and Derek and breaking the long awaited good news to them. Derek would need to stay in hospital and have a few more procedures but the verdict was that he was expected to make a full recovery. He was now out of the woods. The new procedure had worked and he would be left with minimal scarring and would be pain free, his breathing was stable and there was no reason to believe that he couldn't go back to surgery in due time.

Derek was moved out of ICU and back to a regular room where he and Meredith talked quietly amongst themselves laughing every so often. Mark found himself needing some time alone to deal with his 'allergies' and his relief that he would not lose his best friend, his brother.

In between dealing with burns patients and feeling more and more as though she had found her calling in surgery, Izzie was busy writing up her and Mark's innovative study for publication.

As roads reopened in Seattle, Bailey and her baby went to stay with some of Tucker's relatives where they could all mourn their loss and try and put off thinking too far into the future. Unable to go back to an empty house and all of the things left unsaid to the love of his life, Richard set up a bed on the couch in his office, unsure of how long he would be living there, but expecting it to be a long time.

George, Lexie and Alex stayed back at the hospital with other staff members, surviving on massive doses of caffeine, to assist the injured who continued to stream in. Every now and then Lexie would go to check on Meredith and Derek and for the first time in her life, she felt a real attachment to her older sister. Meredith seemed grateful for Lexie's concern and Lexie was left hopeful that maybe they would be able to build on this over time.

Only two staff members returned to their homes that day.

Callie sat outside the hospital on a bench, staring into space and obviously deep in thought.

"Hey," a voice said, snapping her out of her reverie. Callie looked up to see Erica standing in front of her.

"Hey," she replied, exhausted.

"You have blood in your hair," Erica said to her.

"So do you," Callie replied, glumly.

"Were you planning on just sitting here all day?" Erica asked.

"I don't even know if I have a home to go to," Callie said. "I've been toying with the idea of quitting medicine all day. I'm just exhausted," she admitted, her voice close to breaking with emotion.

"That makes two of us," Erica said. "I don't know if I even have a house anymore. I don't know if my neighbours are alive." She sighed and extended a hand towards Callie. "I can't go back alone and neither can you." Callie nodded, knowing that Erica was right. She took Erica's hand and got to her feet. They both left the hospital grounds exhausted and as unsure of the future as everyone around them.

**THE END **


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